Through The Dark Side Of The Moon
by YourConscience813
Summary: After tragedy strikes, the haunting begins. Many paths cross, but will their destinies intertwine? You find that being with the rich and famous is not what it's cracked up to be. Zemyx, AkuRoku. Please Read and Review.
1. I Feel There’s Nothing I Can Do

Through the Dark Side of the Moon was a story that I had made up one day as I was cleaning. As I was in the closet, I was looking through all of my old memories that had been packed away. My mother was always spiritual and many people thought that my mother was strange and maybe even a witch. True story, bro. I always thought that it was funny. As I kept looking, I found many drawings from my past of water and this beach that I wanted to live near. Sadly, I live in a state nowhere near water expect for the pond in the farmland nextdoor. Then a picture came to mind of Demyx with a woman's hand resting lovingly on his shoulder. As that picture came to mind, I ran into my room and started jotting down everything that came to mind. Thus, a new story was born.

I do love hearing from my readers, so please, don't hesitate to review to any of the chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.

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Chapter one: I Feel There's Nothing I Can Do

Some people would say that I was born for the public eye, that I had to be on the front cover of every magazine. Some would say that I was going to grow up and become a world renown actor, just like my father. Some would say that I have the face for television and that people are naturally attracted to me, as if I were magnetic. Some would say they disagree and I didn't have a bit of talent in me. There are the times where I agree with the last set of people, but I continued to move forward with my acting career, or what I am doing to make it. Flashing cameras. Top celebs. Fortune. Fame. Everything that you could dream of can be yours once you're famous, that was something that my father would always tell me.

Nevertheless, it wasn't the fame or fortune for me, though. I liked to be in the limelight. Actually, I adored it. I was sure hoping that it adored me as well. Being in front of a million people while performing at my best was as if I was on top of the world. When being blinded by the lights, I felt an unusual high. I was valuable. No faces could be seen in my audience as I put on a new face. My heart would be beating loud in my ears as I remembered the next line in my script. It was an unknown paradise that many do not have the privilege to undergo.

I was turning eight when I was allowed to start taking acting lessons. My father had always wanted me to learn under him, but my mother said that he needed to work and that I should be with children my own age. That was not the reason why. There was no need to correct her though, feeling grateful to be away from him. I changed schools quite frequently because they kept telling my parents that I was much more advanced than most of the other students, in acting that is. In other schoolwork that we still had to do, I was lower than average. It was not the best, but it pushed me to try harder.

Finally, after about a year of moving from school-to-school, I had been accepted into a world-renowned arts academy that only the best were able to attend. The academy had artists, actors, dancers, directors, designers, models, musicians, media majors, architects, and photographers who came from all over to attend. Once you're part of the best, it was really easy to screw up.

There was one time when I messed up in front of the cast and crew. It was only once that I messed up so everyone was shocked at my mistake. I felt embarrassed, ashamed even.

I was onstage rehearsing when I couldn't pronounce one word correctly. It was one of those words that if you say it too fast without thinking, you could mess it up. Then if you think too hard about the word, you'll end up stuttering it all out. Sometimes you wanted to delete them permanently from the English dictionary. I was almost thirteen and I was having trouble pronouncing one word. It made me feel embarrassed and I was pretty sure that my drama teacher wasn't having such a great time either. Ever single time I would try to say my lines, the word would ruin it, causing me to stop in mid-sentence and freeze upon realization of my mistake. I didn't know what I could do to make everything better.

Well, after I screwed it up for the ninth time, my mother came up to me and took me backstage. Her warm hand was placed on my check as she crouched to be eye level with me. She was always trying to help me with my abilities. She was different from many other people in the world; we understood each other even though no one could- or even tried to- understand us.

My mother, I look more like her than I do my father. Her body was thin, not much muscle on her besides the ones that are used to keep herself afloat in the water. She had long dirty blond hair that was always in waves, almost as if it was a current in water. Her eyes were an outstandingly beautiful blue that reminded me of the ocean on a sunny day. They glistened. Her skin was pale with a slight hue of pink upon her high cheekbones. The lips on her were full and always a dazzling shade of pink.

Once we were backstage, she crooked her head to the side, what she always did when she was worried. Her voice was the sound of a harp composition as she spoke to me, "I know that you think that making mistakes is the worse thing to do in your position, but… I want you to know that everybody makes mistakes. It's not about making the mistake; it's about how to deal with it once it has happened." She smiled at me; her eyes sparkled in the lighting backstage. "You see, Dem. The audience will never know if you make a mistake as long as you can act it out."

After that, I never made a mistake again.

My drama teacher was amazed that I could get through a tough situation and made it look easy. He once had to call both of my parents in for a conference over the whole ordeal. I had to sit in the middle of my mother and my father while they discussed my future.

I, of course, had no part in the discussion at all.

My drama teacher was a tall male who always needed things to be his way. His hair was a dark chocolate brown that was usually covered with some type of hat. It would usually change everyday but usually the color was black. He called wearing black clothes his artistic touch. His eyes were a sea green, almost blue even, that would scan the sets like radars on production day. Then, the one thing about him that set him apart from all the other drama teachers that I have encountered before I attended this academy, was that he would wear these thick-rimed square glasses that were the oddest shade of green. Usually it would never match was he was wearing but at the same time fit in with the style. He was, to say the least, a very interesting person.

He was sitting down at one of the tables that were backstage, his fingers entangled with themselves while he waited for us to sit in the three empty chairs on the other end of the table across from him. Once we sat down, he introduced himself. "Hello, I am your son's drama teacher, Mr. Stan."

My mother smiled, "Hello, I'm Demyx's mother, Catharine Melodious. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Mr. Stan gave my mother a pleasant look that he gave to few of the parents of his other students. A rarity, some would call it.

"Hello Sir," Next was my father who nodded to Mr. Stan, his wide trademark smile stretched across his face. Distinguishably, a hand was outstretched between the two. "My name's Greg Melodious. I'm sure that you know who I am. I'm sorry that we couldn't have met before this, I know that you have tried several times to get in touch with both of us."

My father had short brown hair that was straightened by his personal hairstylist and was fixed so you could just be able to see it under his fedora type hat that he would wear. Strong, well toned, and tall; his eyes could see over my mother's head. His eyes were like my mother's, only a little less vivid, and his skin was a smooth fake tan that was much different from the rest of our family. It made him practically an outsider when we would have to go out as a family. His smile was prefect, straight teeth that were white as pearls. He's a star; he has to look his best.

Mr. Stan nodded while smiling, his hand taking my father's and giving it a firm shake before releasing. "It's very nice to finally meet both of you. I am pretty sure that both of you know why I called for a meeting. I wanted you here to talk about your son's outstanding talent." He crossed his hands across his chest, giving us a charming smile that you would rarely witness in a man in his department. "He could grow up to be very famous, you know."

For three whole hours I had to sit on that uncomfortable metal chair, listening to Mr. Stan tell my parents how well I am with my gift. During that time I did every possible thing that I could to not listen. I felt neglected as they decided my future for me. I was not even certain that my father was even listening to half the things that were said. There was a large possibility that he was checking himself out in one of the many mirrors that were stacked up in the room.

Once we were finished, my father left to go back to his work while my mother took me out for some ice cream. It was one thing that we liked to do when my father was at his work. We would pick up two large cartons of our favorite flavors and take them back to our house, where we would sit in the sunroom watching the sunset. It took my breath away, sometimes even making me lose grip on the spoon as we sat there. She knew that my father would not enjoy an evening at home with the family, unless there was photographer hiding in the bushes.

Our house was close to the ocean. So close to the water that I could wake up one morning and listen to the waves crash onshore. It was a peaceful aura. Very Striking. Not many people would travel down to the beach because they would rather see a famous movie star than the beautiful sight. Makes me sick, even.

I would walk down to the kitchen of our house in the mornings to be greeted by my mother smiling, having a meal laid out at the table for my younger sister, Naminé, and also for me. She would sit on a stool at the counter, talking to us while we ate. She would ask about school and so many other things. There was always something that we could chat about over breakfast.

Then there were some times where my mother would take me and Naminé shopping together. She would have a hold of both Naminé's hand and mine as we would try to avoid the thousands of flashing lights from the paparazzi. "Living the lives of the rich and famous was no walk in the park. You couldn't make it two inches without them swarming around you like bees.

Our mother would take Naminé around the stores to find new clothes, while I would just tag along, not wanting to be left alone in an empty house. I really didn't mind for shopping as much as other things, but people were there. That was all that really mattered to me.

Naminé's three years younger than I am, but still very talented. She's an artist at heart and attends the same arts academy as I do to enrich her abilities. She has long blond hair that she would usually hide underneath a black baseball cap when she would go out on her own. When she would stroll around the town with us, she would where it loose, having her bangs moved to the side so people could see her eyes that matched our families genetics.

Unlike me, Naminé liked to be alone. Whenever my mother and I would leave to go somewhere, Naminé would either decline our offer to join, or agree to come but stay in her own space. Some of the time, she was very hard to read. You never know what she's thinking because she lives in her own isolated world.

My mother had once said that it was because Naminé was more like our father, oblivious to the others around him. What she said to me one day when we traveled down to the beach startled me.

She was looking down at her feet that were covered in sand, her hair blowing against her skin in the cool breeze, "Dem, your father has already hit the bottom of the ocean. It's been this way for a very long time now. He's been sinking under the water, not really understanding or caring what is above the surface. He's lost his way and cannot find his way to the surface, I'm afraid."

I nodded; I understood that my father was very oblivious to many things. Sometimes I don't even think he realizes that we exist in his life. Maybe that's why Naminé and I have mother. She would never leave us; never abandon us like he has done.

She continued on, grabbing a hold of my hand was we walked together towards the water. "Naminé, however, is just beginning to sink. Some things that she is able to see are just foggy because she's losing her way. She still has a light, but it's only faded a little. I never lose hope, though. One day, something will happen, and she will finally resurface. I just know she will."

"Of course, mum." After that, we sat at the edge of the water, getting wet every now and then when the tide would come in, listening to the sound of water. No one would speak, but we could understand. We were on the surface.

We would visit the beach regularly. It was a chance to leave the house and live our secret lives, where there were no jobs, nothing to work at, no fame, no fortune, but equality.

"We are all equals in this world, and some just have a pretty dazzling face and a very baffling intelligence."

I couldn't help but think of my father when she said that.

One afternoon, I was in my room. We were on summer vacation and I hadn't applied for an acting program yet so I was just watching the rainfall outside my window. _Pitter Patter, pit pat_. A continuous cycle of nature that would grow rapidly or slow to a halt. It was hard to see that this same substance was the same thing that made up the ocean.

My mother poked her head around the doorway of my room, "Dem, you want to walk down to the beach with me? We could walk on the pier for a bit."

I sat up quickly, eyeing to see if she was serious. My mother, she was an easy one to read. She was so open with her feelings that it shown in her eyes. Yes, to my amazement, she was being serious about the beach. "But Mum, I thought that it was dangerous to go out during a storm. Especially the pier."

A smile formed across her face, "Honey, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." She reached out her hand to me, a hopeful look in her eyes. I took her hand and we walked out of my room, then eventually out of my house.

I'm not worried about what could happen to me as much as what could happen to you, Mum.

The pier scared me, not just when I was a kid but also when I grew older. The water seemed different from the water from the shore, always dark and rough as it clashed against the wooden pillars beneath the wharf. The pier was located in a small isolated bay my mother had taken me to many times. The bay was very large and held many ships for fishing and cargo. Bungalows were located off the shore, the boardwalk ending before reaching the shacks. The woods surrounded the land around the bay; it was always so green and lush. In the fall and winter, it felt like the world was withering away as the leaves fell.

One summer day, when I was ten or so, my mother took me down to the pier. Naminé was invited, but she said that she had a summer project to finish. So we walked together, her hand clutching a hold of mine tightly.

Her hair was shorter then, about to the middle of her neck. The waves still free as they always were, a headband to pull back strands of loose hair from her heart shaped face. She waved to a captain who was ready to go fishing out in the bay. "You should always go in groups while walking along the pier. Two to three's the safest route. Never walk along the edge. Always hold hands. Watch your step. The pier's just not safe."

"That's why I have you here." I muttered as I looked out to the horizon. Clear blue skies again that day. It made it seem like a storm was fiction. "You keep me safe."

Laughing, for her, was like bells chiming in the wind. Her laugh was amazing. "Dem… You're doing the same thing for me."

We continued our walk until we got to the bungalows that were located for the fishermen's convenience. They were used so that the fishermen could clean their catches for the day and store them. If we got too close to them, the smell would make me sick.

"How has the academy been?" We were sitting on the large rocks, looking out towards the bay. It was a good ten feet down from the water where we sat near the edge of the cliff. "I mean, do you like it?"

I nodded, "Yes, I love it. It's amazing and the people there are great. The teachers really seem to love me." I drew random figures in the dirt while telling her, then erased them before immediately beginning another figure. "If I want to grow up like dad then I should continue with acting, right?"

My mother stayed still, staring down at the water, smooth as glass. She was unresponsive, it was scary for me. I thought that I said something wrong.

I reached out to touch her shoulder, "Mum?"

When she turned back around, silent tears had formed in her eyes. She reminded me of the sky and her tears were the rain. She made no sound when the tear began but when they fell; there was a soft _Pitter Patter _of the water. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a great hug.

What I didn't know back then was that the teachers loved me only because of who my father was. The people treated me great because of it too. The look right through my being, not comprehending any of it. Besides all of that, my mother didn't want to see me like my father is, sinking until there's no light to guide you back to the surface.

After a few minutes, she let go of our embrace. I wiped the tears from her eyes and she smiled down at me. "You can be anything that you want to be, Dem. I never want you to change your path because someone else wants you to. You have a choice. It's your decision. Whatever makes you happy, my little Dem."

I clutched onto her as if it would be the last words that she would ever tell me. One of those moments that would go on forever.

This time wasn't anything like that. Not at all.

We held hands as we walked across the pier. The sky was a charcoal gray, causing a shadow to cast over everything in sight. The rain came down in quick, small drops. _Pitter Patter, pit pat_. The rhythm continued until we reached to the other side of the pier where the bungalows were located. The pace of the droplets slowed down as we perched ourselves on top of the rocks near the edge of the cliff.

No one spoke, only watched as the tides began to calm and the storm settled into nothing more than a breeze. Time was spiraling down. It was like someone speed my life up, fast-forwarding it. Everything was beyond my control even though I tired reaching out to clutch onto everything important to me so I could stay in the present.

My mother turned to me, wetness in her eyes. They were silent but could easily be mistaken for the rain of the storm. A small smile formed on her rosy lips. I didn't recognize the smile; she never smiled that way before. It was a smile of forgiveness, I learned. I didn't know why she was acting this way all of a sudden.

How was I supposed to know that this was our last goodbye?

A week after the storm, I woke up to a light drizzle. _Pitter Patter, pit pat. _The rain droplets ran in patterns of their own on my window. Something unique that you cannot make from art or describe in poetry. You can try but it will never be like the real thing.

Soon, I decided to get up, get dressed, and head down stairs to the kitchen. When I turned the corner, I was met with empty air. Naminé walked in shortly after I did.

Her eyebrows came together in confusion. "Where's mom?"

She was only ten, I was thirteen, and I had an idea of what could have happened. Something was seriously wrong. Crouching down, I held onto both of Naminé's hands and rested my head on her shoulder. Then, the silent tears began to fall.

Naminé was staring at me, wide eyed. She was a smart girl for a kid her age and she could read people just like mother could. She held onto my hands, squeezing them. "Can you… Call Uncle Cid."

Uncle Cid was a man that was our mother's brother. We didn't know much about him but I knew about his daughter, Rikku. Uncle Cid visited many times so that him and mother could chat, then me and Rikku would walk down to the beach and talk.

I nodded to my sister, still holding onto one of her hands. I found the number in my mother's address book that she kept next to the phone and dialed their number. It rang once. Then twice. A third time also. On the fourth, a young voice was heard. "Hello?"

"Rikku, I need to ask you to do something for me."

Rikku and her father arrived about ten to fifteen minutes later. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face to show the same blue eyes that the family all had. Her usual cheerful expression was replaced with a worried appearance.

I hung onto her tightly in a deathly embrace. Tears were streaming like icicles down both of our faces. Once I let go, we waved back at Cid who was trying to comfort Naminé and left the house in a hurry. We had to make our way quickly to the pier.

As we ran down the large grassy hill before reaching the bay, we came to realize that the ground was still wet from the rain at dawn. Dew covered the green blades of grass making it even more difficult to run around than it usually was. Slipping and sliding the whole way around, we plunged into the darkness of the woods.

I held onto Rikku's hand firmly so she wouldn't get lost in this unfamiliar territory. I led the way through the twists and turns even though you could barely see a foot in front of your face. Many tourists have gotten lost in the woods, we heard all about it since we lived so close to the ocean.

We came darting out of the woods to find an ambulance stopped by the pier. There was also a group of people who must have found the body earlier; they were talking to the police. Then there was the body of the swimmer that could be seen from the edge of the woods clearly.

"Mum…"

After her death, I was called to my father for a family meeting. That's something I really need, my father to say that it was just something that was going to cause the paparazzi to go crazy. I hated those lectures from him.

He was sitting at the dining room table with Naminé, he seemed distracted. The moment he saw me come in, he tried to act as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened with a calm smile planted across his face. As my mother had said, he lived deep underwater.

"Demyx, I wanted to address something with you. Something that cannot be put aside any longer." His voice was very proper, probably getting into a role for one of his characters in a movie he's doing. "I know that it's very hard on you since your mother died around a month ago-"

"She died three weeks ago actually." It was just like him, missing every detail that he could. He didn't even care if everyone around him was dying, as long as he could sit and watch his face on television. That's all that mattered. Family didn't mean anything to him but good publicity.

He sighed, pulling his fedora more towards the front. Now is when I begin to realize that he has been wearing a very feminine hat and he's worried about the paparazzi and our family? Get a new look! Maybe a clue while you're at it!

"Demyx, all I wanted to do was ask you if you wanted to live with someone else. You don't seem happy here-"

"I wonder why…"

"I care about how you feel, Dem. I've always been here for you, supporting you and your future career as an actor. Helping you follow in my footsteps, to be just like me. Don't think that I'm as uncaring as the tabloids make me seem!" He got up from his chair to have a height advantage. I was thirteen, he was what? Thirty something trying to seem twenty? He's such a sick little-

"You never cared about me, you never cared about our family, and do you even realize that you've been shoving me and Nam to the side ever since we were born? You don't care what we do, you would rather see us dead than on the tabloids for something stupid! When you want to do something for the family you end up setting it up like a photo shoot! We can't do anything without the- the paparazzi following three feet behind us, because you invite them! You invite them every single time! You don't care!" Tears were filling my eyes; my vision was slowly fading away. I was way too close to hyperventilation for my own good.

"Hey! Don't talk to me like that!" In anger, he moved closer to me, making me back slowly away from him. He pointed his finger was my chest as his voice lowered, "You do not talk to me, your own father, in that tone of voice. I deserve better than that from you."

I wiped the tears away, my face burning from my anger. "You don't even deserve dittly squat! You've done nothing for me that would actually make me a better person, you've tried to brainwash me into thing that fame and fortune was the only way to live! If I didn't have mum around then I could have thought that way, but I know now that you're just a coward! You don't know anything about life!"

"Da- Urgh!" He grabbed a hold of my shoulders, forcing me to back up against a wall. My head slamming into a picture frame, causing the glass to shatter onto the wooden floor. "You hear me? I'm your father! I can do whatever the h- what ever I want. It's my right to brainwash you with the truth! That's what life is about, survival. If you don't make it out there in this world then TOO BAD. Boohoo for you, son." Again, he smashed me into the wall, causing me to grit my teeth together in pain. "You don't have a right to tell me what I do or do not know."

"You can keep lying to yourself but I'm never going to listen to you!" My throat burned from my screams, my cries of pain as he slams me up against the wall. I would never raise my voice in front of anyone in my family, maybe because this could happen as a consequence. I'm not the kind of person to hurt people intentionally, like he is. I was nothing like him.

His face was close to mine, his voice lower. Cold, something that made shivers run down my spine. "What the h- What are you talking about?"

"YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" _Crack. _That was the sound before great pain entered my body. It echoed throughout my head. The back of my skull burned intensely. Tears were streaming from my eyes, my breath in quick gasps for air. I could barely see from the tears, the pain made everything worse.

His eyes, the same blue that was mine now looked like a black hole of nothingness. His lips, plastered into a frown upon his brilliant toned face. This was a side of the story that the tabloids never catch. His secret life of a brutal father who lived deep underwater.

I winced as he let go of his grasp, causing me to collapse onto the floor. My jeans saving my legs from the mess on the ground. My lips trebled terribly. Once he turned his back on me, I muttered something softly. "Did you… Even love mum at all?"

He spun around to face me, eyes shocked but astonished at the same time. His mouth hanging open slightly, like he was about to answer but couldn't find the words. Nothing came.

When he didn't speak, I took it as an answer, "Didn't think so." I wiped the tears away from my eyes, picking my weak body off the floor. My knees were shaking as I made my way, back turned on him, to the door. I didn't dare look to see what mess was covering the wall.

I couldn't help but wonder how Naminé looked then; I wasn't paying attention to tell. I could imagine her eyes, widened in shock just like our father's. Her mouth, slightly creating a gap in between her pale rose lips as she made a small gasp. Maybe afraid of what was happening to me, maybe frightened that I wasn't the same person that I've always been. I didn't know.

Then I wondered how mother would have looked if she had been here.

I was right in the doorframe when I started to laugh. I chuckled to myself in an unusual manner that I didn't recognize at all. Something that would make a person call me a maniac. I figured that this was caused from the blood loss or being knocked into the wall so many times.

I turned my head to my father to face him, his body petrified by my actions. I wanted to tell him something that he should always remember. Raising a hand, I pointed at him, "I want you to know that I'll never- I'll never - AND I MEAN I'LL NEVER TURN OUT TO BE LIKE YOU!"

_Slam! _I closed the door on that part of my life forever.

I went into the bathroom, sat on the floor, and began to clean the wound. I felt the blood leaking from my body so fast; I barely could keep my eyes open to place a rag to clean up the blood. I could barely lift the rag. I was numb in my fingertips and my limbs felt like jelly. Then the bathroom door opened.

My vision was horrible; it was too dark to see anything in front of me even though all the lights were on in the bathroom. Soon, I decided that it was better to just keep my eyes closed. The person took the rag from my hands, placing it on the counter. They pulled on my arms, helping me up off the ground and then guided me to the bathtub. I sat myself inside, them helping me along the way and sat down inside. They sat down on the ledge behind of me but not before grabbing something from a drawler in the cabinet.

I felt a hand search through my hair, pulling out the shards of glass that didn't have contact with my skin. After that, they opened what must have been a first aid kit and pulled out a pair of tweezers. They began to pull out the pieces of glass out of my scalp, opening even more wounds.

After pulling all of the glass out that they could, they took a gauze to hold over the wound. They took my hand to place it on the cloth type material to keep it in place as they left their spot behind of me to turn on the water.

The water continued to run until it was almost to my waist, then was shut off. The person returned, carefully unbuttoning my shirt, taking it off gently, and setting it aside. Warm finger ran over the tops of my shoulders where my father had been holding onto me before. The bruises must have been noticeable.

A washcloth brushed against my forehead, then wiped off my entire face. Slowly, they moved down to my neck, washing the back carefully since it was so brutally bruised. They were careful from my shoulders to my back. After they had washed my entire torso, they moved back to their original position behind of me, taking my hand off the gauze.

The washcloth burned as it ran over the wound. The person cleaned out my injury with the washcloth, pulling out pieces of glass every now and then. Once they were finished, they picked up a large bandage to wrap around my skull. It hurt slightly; it was so tight around the wound that it caused me to flinch.

The person was finished with their job, but they didn't leave just yet. They pulled my head back to rest in their lap. I felt a soft hand across my cheek comfortingly. Once I opened my eyes, I could only see a silhouette of a person.

"Mum?"

I woke up to a bright room with a machine beeping by my side. IV's were injected into my arm, making me uncomfortable. I looked across the room from my hospital bed to see Naminé drawing by herself. Her nose inches away from her sketch pad.

I groaned in pain, trying to pull myself up in a sitting position. Naminé noticed me immediately and came rushing to my side. "Nam?" I now noticed that my voice was very hoarse, my throat being completely dry. "What happened?"

She bit her lip, "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Naminé sat down beside of me, taking a hold of one of my hands. Her other hand playing with her loose blond hair. She had a worried expression written on her pale skin. "Y-you have t-to remember s-something, right?"

I shook my head, and then felt that it was bandaged tightly around my cranium. Slowly, it all came back to me. The fight, my father, my words all came back to me at once. Most of all, the pain.

Squeezing her hand, I answered, "I remember now. It's okay." I looked out the window of the hospital, noticing that it was raining outside. _Pitter patter, pit pat. _Naminé followed my eyes at the window.

"It's been raining harder lately." She nodded her head, bobbing it back and forth. "Strange… The weatherman never said that it would rain."

"Well, weathermen know how to disappoint, don't they?" The comment meant to come out sarcastically but since I had no enthusiasm in my tone, it made Naminé to stare at me confusingly. I continued to stare out the window, watching the droplets. The water hitting the glass in the unnerving rhythm that continued to grow in volume in my mind. "So, when do I get to leave this place?"

Naminé shook her head, "The doctors said that you can go home in three or four days. It all depends on if you feel better or not to leave. They had to stitch up your wound and you have to wait ten days before taking them out."

She really did seem worried for me. I wondered how she was acting after mine and my father's outburst. Then, I began to think about how my father was acting now seeing me in the hospital. Is he caring about my health or what the tabloids will think about this?

It took a minute for me to answer her. "That's… That's not what I meant, Nam."

Bobbing her head up and down, she said. "I know."

Naminé stayed with me the whole time I was at the hospital. We would talk some of the time, or she would draw while I thought. However, for the four days that I had to stay in there, I never saw my father's face once. I didn't think that he has forgiven me yet.

The day I was let out of the hospital, my father came into the room. He patted Naminé's head gently. "Wake up, we're going." It wasn't directed at me, but I knew that he meant me too. He tossed some clothes on the bed for me and left the room with Naminé.

I got dressed quickly, then exited the room to see Naminé waiting for me near the elevators. We took it together down to the first floor where my father signed me out. We left, he drove me home, and then he left.

Four days later, he still hasn't come home.

Eight days total, two days left until I have to take my stitches out, four days missing, twenty-nine days living a nightmare.

Everyday I had to have Naminé wiggle the stitches around so the skin wouldn't grow onto them. She was gently, but it still hurt terribly. I thought they she would make a good nurse someday.

I waited until Naminé went to sleep on the ninth day to try to call my father. I found his cell number in the phonebook and called it. He would pick up; he didn't think that I would try to call him.

"Hello?"

"Greg Melodious?" I asked, my confidence lowering slightly. I could imagine him coming home one day, glaring at me for bothering him at his work.

"This is he… But who is this, may I ask?"

"This is…" The phone was shaking tremendously in my hand. I was afraid of how his reaction would be. "This is your son."

There was silence for a second or two then he cleared him throat. "D- Demyx? But… Why are you calling me? Especially at eleven o'clock at night?"

"You have to come home soon; you can't abandon Nam just because of something that I've done. Don't take this all out on her." I paused, to look out to the sunroom. There were candles burning inside the room, something that Naminé liked to do. We both learned it from our mother. "She needs you."

I was done after that so I hung up before he had a chance to say anything back. Then I walked inside the sunroom, sitting down on one of the many cushions on the floor. The moon wasn't out today, or it was just covered by the clouds. Again, it was raining.

Finally, it was the tenth day; the day that I could have my stitches taken out. Naminé had me sit at the dining room table as she took them out one by one. I thought that she was just trying to punish me by facing me towards the wall that I had been smashed into repeatedly. The blood had been washed away with bleach and repainted quickly after the accident.

When she was halfway finished, my father came into the room. He didn't look over towards us, only passed through to go into the kitchen. I was glad that he came to his senses and hadn't left Naminé. I wouldn't know what we could have done if he did.

It felt wonderful once she was done. I thanked her for taking care of me then headed up to my room. All I did for the rest of the day was stare out my window at the rain. Naminé was right; the weatherman never said anything about rain for today. The rain must be haunting me for some reason.

Day eleven, I decided that the family would be much better without me around.

I stayed in my room the whole morning, my door locked, and began to pack everything that I could into two large suitcases that my mother bought me when we took a vacation to the islands. While I packed, I muttered everything I threw in them, "Shirts, jeans, shoes, glasses, text books, journal, photo of mum…" I held the framed photo for a few more seconds before letting it join the rest of my belongings.

Next, I moved to my closet. Once I opened the door, I found my sitar in its case. My mother played the sitar sometimes when it was storming outside and we couldn't walk along the beach. She taught me everything I needed to know. My talents could never match up to hers.

I quickly picked the sitar up and placed it on the bed with the suitcases. I searched some more, only finding more clothes to pack. Then, I found my music booklets and decided to pack them also. I packed my toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, hair gel, shampoo, all the things I needed for daily use.

Once I was done gathering my things, I organized them into the suitcases. Taking out my backpack I rarely used for school, I threw most of the books into that so my clothes and other essential items could fit into the suitcases. I fixed everything neatly so that I could fit them into one suitcase. Lazily, I threw the other empty one back into my closet, knowing I wouldn't need it for any longer.

There was a knock at the door, startling me. After of few seconds of waiting for the person to leave, they knocked again. I wanted to ignore it, but the endless tapping continued. The rhythm reminded me of rain.

I unlocked the door, not caring to look at who it was on the other side. I figured that it was my father, coming up here either to apologize about everything that he has done to me or to disown me. Both were very possible when it came it him. Still, I wasn't ready to see his face again.

"The door is open." I muttered just loud enough to be heard from my bed. I began to nervously fiddle with the zipper on my jacket as I faced away from my bedroom door. Somehow, I knew that I wasn't ready to be discarded so soon. Then again, I didn't think that I was able to forgive him just yet. Nothing was working out the way I wanted it to. I never wanted any of this to happen so fast.

I heard the door squeak while it opened and closed again. Nothing had happened, nothing had changed. Then, the most important note was that nothing was heard.

Now I noticed that I had been holding my breath the whole time, as if I was waiting for an explosive to detonate. I was waiting for my father to tell me that I couldn't be his son. I was waiting for my father to tell me that he was here. I was waiting for something. Something that I was expecting, a ticking time bomb.

I turned to the door, only to find that no one was there. Taking another look, I noticed that something was laid down on the corner of my desk. I walked over to the item and picked it up.

My heart sunk, almost like I was caught in a current and it was starting to pull me below the surface. I was sinking, slowly. My head feeling dizzy as the light began to lose its glow as I traveled deeper. No one called for me, no one could rescue me. No one really cared.

I clutched the book in my hands tighter, tears welling in my eyes. The outside of the book was a light blue covered with cutouts from magazines about the ocean. I've seen the book many times before. This was my mother's scrapbook.

"Nam…" I didn't open the book nor did I want to. The memories were burning holes in my heart, the deeper the water the worse the burn. All that I could do for the next few minutes was stop the tears from falling.

I glanced at my watch and decided that I better hurry. Placing the book along with my other's, I checked my wallet. I took all the money that I had in my cash box with me, some in my wallet and some in my pants pocket. Something I learned from one of the captains on the pier. If someone stole your wallet then you still have some cash on you.

My sitar was against my back, held on by a strap that was tightly pulled against my chest. I held onto both my suitcase and backpack in one hand as I made my way down the stairs and to the front door. I was greeted by eyes of sorrow.

Naminé was there, alone. She had her hand to her mouth, as if she was about to catch any words that she would speak. Her other arm was holding onto her stomach. Her eyes were red where the tears had fallen like mine had before. She didn't look well.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Naminé knew exactly what I was planning to do; she probably knew that I would make the decision at our father's little meeting eleven days before.

But I could feel that something was changing. We were more alike than we were three weeks ago. She had taken care of me when I was let out of the hospital because no one else cared to do it. She cared about me.

As before, we stood in silence at the front door. She, not really wanting to say anything and me, not knowing what I should say. The heavy silence that creates rifts between people. The gap was more like a canyon to me; she being on one side, me on the other. Barely capable to wave at each other, let alone talk.

Then, I left. I walked right past her, baggage and all. No goodbyes. Nothing. I just walked out on both her and our father's life… Forever.

As I walked away from the house, I turned towards the ocean. The sun was covered by clouds; nothing like it usually was when my mother was alive. Since her death, it has been raining. My mother was the sky and her silent tears continued to fall even after she was gone.

It took awhile to get into town but once I did, I found a taxi and was off to Rikku's apartment. At my mother's funeral, Rikku was the one who was comforting me. She stayed with me till the very end, when my mother was put into the earth.

I stayed longer than everyone else, they all went to my father's house afterwards for some dinner. However, I stayed with mother, and Rikku stayed with me. We sat at the grave sight until it was almost dusk, then we decided to go back to the house.

As we were walking, Rikku spoke. "I was talking to my dad earlier. Dad said that you can come stay with us, if you want. You know, if you don't feel like you can stay…" She kicked at the pebbles in our path, not making eye contact. She seemed slightly afraid to bring anything up that would hurt me. For that, I was grateful.

I nodded, taking Rikku's hand as we made it back to the house. Uncle Cid greeted us, asking where we had been while Naminé was by his side. They were the only ones who noticed that we were missing.

Once I got out of the taxi, my backpack dropped from my hands and landed with a _cluck_ on the sidewalk. Rolling my eyes, I reached down to pick it up when another hand already had a hold of it.

My eyes followed from the hand up to the arm, then the shoulder until his face was in my view. He had a long face with high intense cheekbones. The eyes were the most intense color of green that I've ever seen. A green that burned like a wild fire. His skin was as pale as mine, looking colorless against his black clothing. Then I saw his hair. There was just enough hair to be tied back in a ponytail, the color being a rich red.

He held out the bag towards me, "Think ya lost somethin' pal?" It didn't dawn on me that this guy was mocking me. His tone of voice proved it.

I stood up, now coming to realize that this guy was taller than me, maybe a head taller. Forcefully, I took a hold of my backpack once more, prying the other to lose his grip. "Thanks."

He raised an eyebrow, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

I shook my head, "Sorry, I'm new."

The red head only hummed as a reply. "I could've sworn that I've seen you before. You look too familiar." As he said it out loud, it was like he was talking to himself. "Well then, if we haven't met before, then I guess it's about time for a little introduction."

His words, smooth as glass. He seemed to be a natural talker, able to control the way his tone of voice structured the situation. It was something that sort of reminded me of my mother, her voice as a harp melody.

I raised an eyebrow at the proposal, but nodded to it anyway. I stuck out my hand towards the red head. "I'm Demyx Melodious."

He opened his mouth then quickly closed it, understanding who I was. Then, he rubbed the back of his neck as if he was in an awkward position. He stuck out his other hand to take mine in it. "Axel Vivus. Got it memorized?"

I smiled at him while I pulled back my hand to return to what I was doing before. I turned away from Axel and started to walk towards the building. I was surprised to see that a shadow was following me.

"You don't live here. Do ya?" He asked from behind me. I shook my head, "You need help finding someone? I know everyone in this building, I'm sure that I can find who you're looking for."

"Rikku Marine." He nodded and began to show me to the entrance of the complex. It was seven stories high, two apartments for each story. It was in pretty decent shape and I was certain that I would be happy living here for a while.

"You lied, I do know you." Axel said as we got into the elevator. He had a cocky grin plastered on his face as if he knew who I was all along.

I ran my fingers through my hair, watching as he pressed the button for the fifth floor. The elevator started to move and I was trapped inside to talk to this stranger. "Well, you know, it's hard not to know about someone who's famous."

"I wasn't meaning that, silly." I again saw that he was still mocking me as I stood beside of him. Then I gave him a puzzled expression, wanting to know what he meant. "You go to the same school as I do. I come through the backstage sometimes to get onto the catwalk above the stage. Mr. Stan doesn't mind much, though. I've been doing that for years."

I nodded, not really understanding what he was telling me. "So you saw me… While I was performing from the catwalk which is…"

"Thirty feet above the stage, yes. It's a pretty nice view from up there." It was amazing that he hadn't fallen off the catwalk and died yet. The elevator stopped and the doors opened for me. "You're pretty good, too."

"Thanks." I got out, carrying my baggage with me.

He pointed to the right door in the hallway, "That's the one that you want. Tell Rikku that Axel says 'Yo'." He gave me a two-finger salute. Then he pressed another button and the elevator doors closed. Somehow, by the way he acted, I could tell that he was way above the surface. Maybe he's a sky kind of person.

I made my way to the door, knocking three times. Rikku was the one to open it, her eyes instantly widened in shock. "Demyx? What are you doing here… Clear across town… In the middle of the city… About four hours from your house?"

She looked at my baggage, understanding completely. "So… Is your dad willing to take up on that offer?"

She smiled a full, bright smile.

I continued through school at the arts academy. I found out that Axel was in fact at the top of the catwalk looking down at the stage. During lunch, I would join him and talk about random things that came into mind. We soon became best friends.

Axel munched on a cracker aimlessly, staring at the floor beneath us, "You know," _Munch, munch, munch. _"You're something different, Dem." _Munch, munch, munch_. "I really though that you-" _Munch, munch_. "-Would be some arrogant jerk who wouldn't want to-" _Munch._ "-Hang around-" _Munch, munch, munch._ "-A guy like me."

I quirked an eyebrow while giving a sinister grin, "What? Not hanging around the guy who takes SO freaking long to eat ONE freaking cracker? That seems impossible. Dreadful even."

He smirked, still looking down at the ground. Finally, he had finished the cracker that he had been working at for about ten minutes. "No, seriously. I've met some of the best of the best. And you…" His eyes found mine quickly, "You know your stuff AND you know how to treat people. That's the kind of talent is surpassed."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you." The look of kindness I was giving him changed into a serious one. "And as you can tell… Sweet and treat sounds a little like…" I picked up the sandwich in my lunch bag to throw on his lap, "EAT."

Everyday during lunch it was the same thing. He only would bring four crackers everyday to school. It bugged me. He was my friend, on of the very first real friends I ever had. I would not lose him to a cracker.

I asked Rikku about it one day and she said that she knows that Axel doesn't eat much. He never really did, that she could see. Then, after we would have our little conversation, I went back into my room and locked the door.

Almost every time I talked with her I soon would processed to my room. It wasn't as big and luxurious as my room by the shore, but I liked it much better. The walls were painted a dark blue that usually matched a stormy sky and the carpet was a dark brown. My stuff was not unpacked really, just sitting in a heap in my closet.

I looked out my window to see that it was raining again. The rain would never cease to haunt me. Therefore, I decide that I would enjoy the day by playing my sitar.

My sitar was much bigger than me but I got used to it after awhile. I practiced from the music book that I brought. Every note that I would play, reminded me of the bay, then the sky, then the rain, then my mother's tears.

"It's haunting me…" I muttered to myself.

_Pitter Patter, Tap Tip Tap, Patter Pitter, Tip Pat Pit._

I raised an eyebrow at the unusual rhythm then raised my head up to see a strange shadow on my wall.

My head turned around so fast that I thought I would get whiplash. I was watching the figure that stood at my window, dressed in a black hoodie. His red hair barely visible. He was drenched from the rain.

"Ax-el?" I got up quickly, jogging over to my window to let the other inside. My heart was racing. How? What? Why? I knew the When, the When was right at this moment. I knew the Who, the Who being Axel. Then there was the Where, the Where being here. How? What? Why? _Tip, Pat, Pit._

He greeted me like nothing was out of the ordinary. "Hey, Dem. How's it hanging?" He fumbled inside my window clumsy, falling onto my floor. "Oopies, sorry 'bout that."

I helped him up; he seemed far too tipsy for his own good. Wasn't this guy… fourteen maybe? I straighten him up and sat him down on my bed, moving my sitar into its case for the time being. "Axel? What are you doing here?"

Like it was nothing big, he shrugged. "Do I really need a reason to visit my good buddy ol'pal, hm?"

"I guess not." Still I was wondering if he was drinking before he came through the window. Maybe he was smoking something. I had no clue what he actually did in his free time without me around. Something was telling me that I did not want to. "Hey Axel… How old are you?"

The red head waved his fingers in the air in front of my face, "No, no, no. How old are you, my dear friend? I don't think that you ever told me your age." He was telling the truth, I'll give him that. I didn't tell Axel anything about my past besides the basic. My name, my school, and my father's name. He didn't even know about Naminé yet unless he read the tabloids.

"But I do insist that you tell me first."

He nodded, now flipping off his hood revealing red hair let loose. It was in uneven spikes that seemed to go all over the place. "I turned fourteen five weeks ago. Actually…" He took a second to think it over, "I turned fourteen the day I met you outside this place."

"Hmtp, must have been one real birthday present for you." I said smiling at the other who let out a small chuckle. "Now, I guess it's my turn… I'm turning fourteen in a month or so."

"Congratulations."

Axel ran a hand through his hair, calming himself down a bit. Soon, he became less tipsy and his eyes were in focus. I had no clue what had happened a minute ago, and something told me that I didn't need to know.

We stood still for a little while until I wanted to ask him a few things. One thing in particular that came into my mind. "Axel… Who ARE you, really?"

He smirked, a common thing that he would do. To tell you the truth, I didn't know anything about Axel as you would think I did. He was my best friend, but yet… He was still the unknown stranger that I met five weeks ago outside the apartment building. I didn't even know what floor he lived on.

Finally, he cleared his throat to answer me. "I'm a shadow. Well… More of an impression that was formed into the ground by a smothering fire." I nodded for him to continue. Something told me now that he had to be sober to come up with something poetic such as that. "The fire used to be there, dancing its natural rhythm of nature. But now… It's nothing more than an impression in the ground and the remains of what it destroyed."

His eyes were at his shoes, almost like he was afraid to look at me directly. Did something terrible happen to him? Something he did not like to talk about? I was barely able to mutter anything out. "W-what happened… Axel?"

"I was just a little kid, ya know? I lived with my family, mom and dad in the slums of this city. My brother had been missing for about five years now, barely even remembered him when I saw him after I thought my life ended. I was walking with my parents, together holding hands. I was in the middle. I was only eight."

I watched as he laughed. Tears were forming at the corners of his eyes, I thought. Or it could have been from the wetness of the rain outside. Once I saw his lower lip quiver, I thought otherwise.

"I couldn't really walk as fast as my parents could, I would always fall behind and they would have to slow down for me. One time, I tripped and had fallen, losing the other's grips on me. They continued walking slowly, waiting for me. Always waiting for me…"

I sat myself down, beside of the red head. My knees were shaking from the story he was telling, it was frightening to me. I wanted to comfort the other beside of me, but I didn't know how I could. Slowly, I ran a hand up and down the other's back in the attempts to make him feel better. Safe.

"I really didn't understand what happened that day; everything is such a blur to me. I try to bring it up with Reno, but he'll just change the subject on me. Well… what happened was there was an explosion near where we were walking. An explosion that my parents were too close to. I was just close enough to be blown backwards and suffering from burns and a concussion. When I awoke, I saw Reno beside of me in the hospital room. His eyes closed and tired… His face paled."

My lip was quivering, the air around us becoming colder by the second. "Y-your parents a-are…" I couldn't come to say it; I grabbed a hold of one of Axel's hands in the process, squeezing it tightly.

"I let Reno sleep for the time being… I could barely recognize that it was actually him at first. I hadn't seen him in so long. I was so excited. My brother had finally came back to join our family." His voice was now turning into a whisper. "What I didn't know was that my family was already gone. We were the only ones left."

Sighing, he laid himself down on my mattress. I did the same, letting him wrap an arm around my body as I laid my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. _Ba dump, ba dump, ba dump._

"So after I was all better, they let me out of the hospital and Reno took me under his wing. At the time, he was a seventeen year old who looked like he was twenty-five. He had a job as a bartender because he had resources, he would say. He wasn't even old enough to drink. But, we lived together in the apartment right above yours for many-a years now. He made just enough money to get me into the arts academy. Much better than the slums…"

I snuggled in closer, not caring about how wet I was becoming from the red head's clothes. All I wanted was to make the pain in everything just go away, to never return here. It wasn't welcome.

"So that's my life story, someday… It will be one of the top sellers at the book store right?" His grin was to hide the fact that a single tear escape his eye and was rolling down off the side of his face. "Dem?"

I clutched to his shirt, a few tears trailing down my own face. Then, I told him. I told him about my mother and how I was here because my father was too much for me to handle. I told him about Naminé, the beach, the water, and how I saw my mother's body with Rikku by my side. I told him about the hurt, the comfort, the fights, the tears, and even the pain that was still there.

_Ba dump, ba dump, ba dump. _That was all I could hear in the silence after I told him about myself. He was shocked, stunned, and speechless. All that he could do was hold me tighter against his body in an embrace. Outside was the same as always.

_Pitter Patter, pit pat_.

_That was how the rhythm spat. _

_From all those unmelodious words, _

_In this silence for this and that._

It was something that the rain was mocking me for. I soon realized that it would never stop haunting me. That little song remained in my mind until I feel asleep, feeling the warmth wrapped around me comfortably.

The next day was the weekend thankfully and Rikku never came into my room during the weekend. I woke up and instantly noticed that Axel and I had fallen asleep together last night. He, of course, was still asleep.

Thankfully for me, I was able to pull his arm off me so I could decide on what to do next. Once I left my spot on the bed, he rolled over, curling up in a little ball like a small animal. He looked peaceful, vulnerable even.

I opened the door to my bedroom and closed it quietly as I retreated to the kitchen. Rikku had left a note on the counter saying that she was staying at a friend's house for the weekend that she left for me yesterday night. I crumbled the paper up and threw it in the trashcan. Cid, as on schedule, was already at work and would be for another six hours.

Then I decided that I would make breakfast for both me and Axel, maybe forcing him to eat something other than the crackers he enjoys so much. He worries me. Doesn't he ever hear the word anorexia once in awhile?

I made too plates full of pancakes, the only thing that I knew how to make really. I crept up to the door and carefully opened it to reveal the sleeping cat, right where I left him.

"Axel…" I closed the door behind of me, "Ax-el?" My voice was slowly rising from a mere whisper to my normal talking voice. "Hey, you wanna wake up for me?" His nose wrinkled. "Do I have to force you to get up out of bed?"

He turned away from my voice and muffled something into the blanket. Nothing was coherent enough to be heard.

"Come again? I don't quite understand what you're telling me." I nudged his shoulder, "I didn't hear that, Axel, you wanna say it again?"

He turned back to face me, his hair was now flattened, almost in an emo style. His eyelids barely able to stay open, "I said that I'm not that easy to wake up…" Then he collapsed back onto my bed.

"If you don't wake up, I'll take the pancakes that I just made and put them down your pants, Axel." That was the best threat that I could really come up with this early in the morning. Something that I doubted would work.

Oh, but it did! Axel chuckled, forcing himself upright. He stretched his arms out wide, trying to wake himself up a little more before he actually began moving. "Alright, alright… You got my attention, O'Captain of the Pancakes." The tone was still mocking but lighter than it usually was. "Now, why did you want me up again?"

I grabbed a hold of his hand and led him into the kitchen where there were pancakes waiting for him. He smiled at the thought. "You actually made me breakfast? I don't know what to say, Dem."

"Say nothing. Take it as a… Five weeks and one day anniversary of our friendship present." He laughed at my idea. What really surprised me though was that he sat down that the table with me, tore off a piece of pancake with his fork, and then ate it. Then a second later… He went onto another piece.

He saw me staring at him intensely and gave a worried expression. He stopped eating to ask what was wrong, but I quickly leapt off of my stool and yelled at the top of my lungs at him.

"Please! Don't stop eating!" It was over dramatic but I was amazed that Axel could eat more than a cracker in less than four seconds. Once he was finished laughing at my command, he obliged to it and began to take large bites of his breakfast. Then I told him what was going through my mind, "That is the fastest I've ever seen you eat, Axel. I'm simply amazed."

He laughed, "It's truly talent, I guess."

I took a few bites of my own meal. Many thoughts were still running through my mind. Axel shared the troubles of his life last night, what other things are within his being. What truly makes up Axel's being. Then I looked up at him once again, "Why don't you ever eat during school?"

"Well…" Playfully, he moved the fork all around his plate as he thought about it. He straightened up to look me in the eye. "I just don't feel safe eating in public. It's weird, I know but I don't feel safe."

Nodding to that, I reached forward to grasp his hand. Our fingers intertwined with one another's. "You're safe here."

He smiled, grasping my hand as a response. We finished the rest of our breakfast in silence and hold hands. I got up and placed our plates in the sink. No attempts were made to clean them right at the moment.

"Demyx?" I turned to see the red head leaning on the counter, his green eyes staring at me. We keep our gaze until he spoke again. "I want to show you something."

We walked back to my room. A few raindrops fell, but not enough to make a fuss about. He opened my window, crawling out to go onto the fire escape. I followed when he signaled me to come out. After that, we walked up the stairs to the floor above mine where Axel opened the window and climbed inside.

I looked at the room. It was a dark gray with hundreds of posters overlapping each another. The bed was more of just a mattress lying on the floor with a black blanket sprawled out across it. Most of the room was empty, but it expressed some much about the red head too.

Walking over to the small closet, he looked around, searching for something. When he found it, he made a satisfied sound and took down a small shoebox. I didn't know what to really expect. What did he really want to show me?

Slowly, he sat himself down on the floor. He began searching through the papers in the box and eventually found the object on the bottom of the box. His fingers wrapped around it, hiding its appearance from me.

Then, he smiled, "This is my five weeks and one day friendship present, I guess." Carefully, he underhanded it over me. I caught it, the gold chain wrapping around my index and middle finger as I did so. Before I could even look at the whole thing, he said, "Don't say you can't keep it because it's a present, kid. Just keep it."

I felt my heartbeat quicken as I saw what he had given me. It was a necklace that had a small pendent attached to it. My thumb rubbed against the caracoled fallen angel itched into the pendent. I tried to find the right words to say about the gift, but they all fell short of my throat.

"I know how you feel. It's alright. You don't have to say anything."

I didn't understand what my body was doing until it was already done. My arms had flung around the red head, hugging him close. I probably made him hit his head off the wall by the suddenness of my actions, which I quickly apologize for. He only chuckled and smiled at me.

The rest of the day, I hung out with Axel. My best friend in this forsaken world. I wore the necklace he gave me, creating a new habit of twirling the golden chain between my fingers.

I was sitting down crossed legged on the floor of the fire escape. It wasn't rain as much as it usually did, so I didn't wear any kind of jacket. Axel, however, was all decked up like he was going to go rob a 7-eleven. How he acted about the rain made me snicker.

"Why are you leaning against that?" I asked, my eyes landing on the broken ledge that he was leaning upon. The barrier looked old, rusted, and like it was going to just break any minute, letting the red head plummet to his dead from six stories up in the air. My heartbeat quickened by the thought of it.

"You know the phrase 'living on edge'? That's sort of what I'm doing now." There was a smirk planted on his face as he said this. He actually thought it was funny to put his life at risk? "I've been doing this for years, it hasn't broke on me yet."

"I don't want to be here when it does." I stood up and stretched my back, feeling the stiffness of staying in one position for a long time.

From that, he stood up next to me. "Fine, let's go inside." A flash of lightning cracked above out heads. "Before we become toast…"

His face was priceless. I found that he didn't like storms that much. _Pitter Patter Pit Pat. _The rhythm as the rain began to fall harder. He opened the window, letting me inside his room first. Quickly, as soon as he was inside, he shut the window staring at the window being pelted by the droplets.

"If we continued getting storms like this, the city will be flooded."

I was sitting down on his mattress, my fingers running over the pendent. All I could do was agree to the _Pitter Patter Pit Pat_.

End of Chapter One

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I know that it was a long chapter. I am very sorry that I did not warn you beforehand that I could actually write so much. I rarely do anymore and it is because I have no time to do such a thing. So much studying- cough not cough- and working. Hopefully after I am done with some college classes I can continue on with posting all my stories up and having them completed. Oh right, it is an impossible dream.

By the way, this seems like it has a slight AxelxDemyx in it… As you can already tell but the main pairings will show up later on. It's not really a pairing or it could be, what ever you actually wish it to be.

I hope you enjoyed chapter one

Review if you wish, tell me what you think, tell me that I should actually work on this story more.

YourConscience813


	2. By My Side

Author's Note: Hello whoever is reading this. Welcome to chapter two for the story of Through The Dark Side of the Moon. I hope that all of you enjoyed chapter one. I really enjoy working on this story- even though it's a pretty serious story with no laugh out loud parts- and I'll continue working until I finish. This will probably take sometime, if you've ever read some of my other stories. I'm a procrastinator. I'm sorry about that.

Please enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy…

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Chapter Two: By My Side

A few years have passed from those incidents in my twisted life. At first, it was like I was walking along a sandy beach, when I looked back I could only see one set of footprints imbedded in the sand. It was like I was alone on the path to nowhere. Then I met a person who would change my life forever. He helped me get through most of the tough times and was even there to enjoy some of the great times.

Now as I look back, two set of foot prints follow.

The freezing rain poured down, soaking the light jacket that I wore in an instant. _Pitter Patter Pit Pat. _That repeated itself over and over again, hitting the material on my jacket. I quickly made my way to the open window above and slid inside. A red head looked up from his spot on the mattress. He looked the same as he did years ago, except for the tattoos that he had gotten underneath his eyes. It was for his eighteenth birthday, we both went so he could get the tattoos. Something told us that he looked complete with them. His eyes scanned over my clothing and he quirked an eyebrow. "Didn't expect a rain storm, did ya?"

"No. When I looked outside I thought I saw a little bit of sunlight between two rain drops." I said sarcastically, taking off the jacket and hanging it by the window. My fingers wrapped around the golden chain out of habit as I made my way over to where he was sitting, looking through magazines. "But of course, it should be doing something closer to snowing."

When I got closer to the magazine, I saw what was on the page. The ad that was on the page was for some cologne. It was an ad that I've seen before many times. The model on the cover was in black and white, making a dramatic pose for the camera. Axel noticed me looking at the picture and flipped the page quickly. "So, what-cha up to?"

"Nothing really. Mainly, I was wondering when Mr. Stan was going to be back." I said truthfully. For the past few months, that's really all that I've thought of.

Mr. Stan had gotten hurt from a stage accident. No one was around to help him when he was hurt because it was after school hours. When the janitor came in, he saw the mess and called nine one one as quickly as he could. That still didn't help as Mr. Stan was in a coma. We haven't seen is quirky little face in a long time, it really hurt many of the students.

Axel smirked, waving it off. "Don't worry about him. I heard that they're sending in one of the senior directors to help with the spring play. Mr. Stan will be alright in no time." Of course, he heard about this. Usually, he wouldn't go to any of his own classes so he heard a lot of the talk. It took a long time for me to figure out exactly what the red head was majoring in. Sadly, he never told me directly; I actually had to stalk him to find it out myself. Then, because of the silence, his electric eyes narrowed as he added, "But it's pretty sad that we both are missing some crazy drama teacher who enjoys wearing women's pants."

"Hey, he actually looks good in woman's pants. I think it's just his thing." We laughed at that for a bit. When we were finished with that, I decided to go on a more serious note, "This will be my last play that I do in high school." I looked off to the side, staring at were the wall meets the carpet. "I can't believe that this has gone by so fast."

"It's almost like a week ago we met outside this apartment." A smile formed on his lips as he looked down at the magazine. He flipped to another ad and his smile quickly turned upside-down. "Still, we'll continue to be friends once we're out of school and starting college, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't think against the idea. Friends forever. I have to take you out to see the bay, also. We need to make plans, you know." I noticed his concentration on the ad and frowned from the expression forming on his face. Before he could do a thing about it, I stole the little booklet and ripped the page out. His expression was a mixture between 'thank you' and 'that's the scariest thing you've ever done.' "Will you stop making a fuss over those little pictures?"

He began to speak, but I shushed him. Somehow, he knew exactly what I was thinking. Maybe it was because we had a bond that we just couldn't break. Whatever it was, he rubbed the back of his neck tenderly, awkwardly trying to get off this subject. "I guess you're right. I need to give the magazines a rest for a little while now. Do you want to see what Reno has attempted to cook for us tonight?"

Chuckling at the idea of his brother cooking something, I nodded. We both got up and walked into the main room of their apartment. It was empty besides the couch and the huge entertainment center. That was one place where Axel and I always were when I came over.

Reno, I met him for the first time after Axel gave me the gift. He looked a lot like his little brother, even had the same voice as him. When you really get to know him, he usually snaps out of his cocky attitude to be as nice as the younger read head. Still, he had a dark past like the other and was a bit sensitive about certain things. You really had to think things over before saying them.

"Yo, kids." The older red head said as pushed something into the heated oven. A smirk was planted on his angular face, his blue orbs for eyes flashing with energy. The only thing strange from his usual appearance of bartender uniforms was a messy apron tided around his thin waste. It almost made me giggle at the sight. "Does anyone want to be the first to try what I've attempted to cook this time?"

I quickly shook my head, knowing that I probably was going to be the one this time around to be the test subject. When I looked to my side, my eyes widened as Axel was already gone and out of the room.

Reno laughed, "Well that's one way to clear the room."

Chuckling also, I walked out into the living room to see the other on the couch. A smile was directed at me. I crossed my arms as if I was angry, but couldn't help but smirk at his actions. "That was cheating."

He got up and flicked the middle of my forehead lightly. "That wasn't cheating. That was getting out before the game began."

We both laughed at that. "Sure, sure." Then I smelt something that was coming from the kitchen. Personally, I wouldn't think much of it since I knew that Reno was cooking, but once I saw some smoke, it would be best to see what happened. My head turned and I had to back up a few steps to look in through the open doorway. "I think dinner is ready."

The oven was pouring out smoke as the older one opened it. There were no flames in sight but the meal looked as if it was thrown into a fire pit. You could barely see what it was before. Its color was a deep brown with black edges, making Reno whimper at the sight. For what it seemed like the hundredth time, we sat down at the dinner table. Takeout Chinese food sat out in front of us. We talked about what was going on in one another's lives, telling stories about what we've experienced lately. The three of us would laugh until we cry, enjoying our time spent with one another.

I've found the secret treasure of my life, a real family.

We alternated between days of where we would stay and have dinner at. Rikku loved seeing the red head over at the apartment and would attach herself to him whenever he walked into the same room as her. Uncle Cid, surprisingly, liked the red head saying that he had spunk. Hearing my uncle say spunk usually sent both Rikku and me into a giggle spree.

In the morning, I waited outside the apartment in the rain. I wore my olive jacket that was heavy and kept me warm in the cold weather. It took a few minutes for the other to join me, but as soon as he did, we began walking to the academy. It was a few blocks away from the apartment so it wouldn't take to long. It seemed that everyone was out during the morning hours. We lived on an exceedingly busy street in a remarkably busy city. You had to be careful that you weren't hit by a car when you crossed the street.

"I heard that we were named the wettest city on the coast." Axel said, trying to strike up some conversation as we slowly made our way through the semiflooded streets. You couldn't get past three steps before stepping in a huge puddle, or even stepping under a broken gutter. That was something that you could never get used to, getting splashed by all this water suddenly without warning.

"Strangely, that doesn't surprise me." I listened in to the off tempo of the rain hitting the puddles. _Pitter Patter Splish Splash. _

We stepped inside the academy and made our way to the auditorium where drama classes were held. Usually, before class would start, we would climb the ladder to the catwalk just to hang out of awhile. As we did that today, we watched the other students come in and beginning to converse with one another.

Axel swung his legs back and forth, bored with the emptiness of the set. The props weren't even taken out and no one has cared to change the backdrop for months. Things had really gone downhill in the drama apartment since Mr. Stan's accident. I was rather distracted by something to not notice the other's gaze. Or even him speaking to me. I turned when I heard my name being called, but my thoughts were still elsewhere. "Hm?"

"What's on your mind?" He repeated himself, running some fingers through his red spikes. No, he didn't know what was going on today. I keep on thinking that maybe I should tell him, but I don't. I sometimes think that maybe I should tell myself that I can never push things like this away, but I choose not to listen.

I just shook my head, pulling my legs up to my chest. "It's nothing."

"You sure?" I answered him back with a simple nod, making him nod his head as well. "If you say so, pal."

Class went along as expected; we had to do some exercises that we've been working on for the past month. I thought about hanging myself from how the substitute teacher acted with the other students. She certainly didn't know what she was supposed to do, really. I thought about giving her some advice but blew it off. We'll get another substitute tomorrow, there's no point to it.

Some girls giggled past me, one flipping her overly conditioned hair in my direction. This usually happened everyday. They would come up to me asking me to help them with the set, or to even act out parts of movies for them. Me, being a nice person and all, would do these things for them. From this, I somehow made a small fan club for myself. There were at least twenty girls who would stalk me all around the academy. There would probably be more if some girls didn't have lives. When I stroll around, everyone knows my name. Surprisingly, it's not from the tabloids now. Since I left, no paparazzi or anyone has been taking pictures of me. That gave me some sense of privacy. Not much now that I made it famous in this academy.

Axel already had his own fan club. He knew everyone around this whole city! We could just be walking down the street and people would wave at him, telling him that they haven't seen him in awhile. Some of the stories the people would tell me were so hilarious how them and Axel met. Usually it was from him being a good citizen and helping them in some way or form, making the red head flush in embarrassment.

All this time, I thought that fame was really bad. Mainly, thinking that once you were famous, you had to act the way that the high and mighty did. As if you were some kind of god and that no one was good enough to be in your presence. Even though I was famous at the academy and even had my own fangirls, I acted like the same old me. I was becoming famous for being myself; that made me happy. However, it always came down to something that my mother had said to me. She was sitting in the sunroom, lighting candles with my sister and me. We watched as the flame lighted the candle, then the next. One small flame could carry out so much work. Passing the light to one tiny stick of max to the next.

She was finished with the candles, and sit down crossed legged onto a cushion on the wooden floor. We sat in silence until we heard someone pull up to the house. Then we saw as some paparazzi took pictures from the gate around the house. My mother looked disgusted by the sight, something that you would rarely see from her.

Then she said something that had me thinking for a very long time.

"Most friends with fan clubs aren't worth it."

As an image of my father came into my mind, my hand flew to the back of my head like it was on autopilot, slowly rubbing where the scar remained. Father? What father? I don't have a father. I never did. All I remember was having an empty shell of a person drowning in his own ego.

That's not a father.

For the rest of class, I stood staring at the ceiling counting the dots on each title. The teacher didn't really care; she had lost control of the students a long time ago. My fingers wrapped around an object that was in my jacket pocket, making sure that it was still in it's place. My thoughts then directed towards that.

I pulled out the small box that was almost the size of my palm. Opening the lid showed a silver music box that was neatly placed in the middle of cotton balls, making it look like it was floating on a cloud. On the top had something inscribed on the lid. I didn't open it, not here so people can see it and hear what it played. I'll leave that for a little bit later. I just half smiled at the sight, wondering what to do with it. Well, I knew what I had to do with the music box, but it all depended on if I was really going to follow through with my actions. Something in the bottom of my heart told me that I wasn't going to.

At the end of class, I got up out of my seat and went backstage. Of course, there was no one back there, as it always was. It looked so abandoned. Seeing cobwebs all over the props made a cold shiver run down my spine. Something told me that Mr. Stan would fall into another coma if he saw what a wreck his backstage had become.

Axel walked in then, talking the double doors that lead outside. To my astonishment, he only came in that way if he had actually been to his class. His eyebrow rose at the sigh of me, "Wow, Dem. You don't look so good."

I waved it off as nothing. Sighing, I gave in to my thoughts, knowing that I had to get this thing over with. "I need to take care of a few things, I'll meet you back at the apartment in a little while, kay?"

His eyes widened, not knowing what was going on. Still, he ran some fingers through his hair and grunted in agreement. "Okay, I guess I'll catch ya later..."

We walked our separate ways for now, me heading towards the other side of the academy. Some of the many clubs were being held after school today, one that I knew that I would be able to find someone at. I had to give in to my conscience sometime. Today seemed like the right day to do it.

It took a few minutes to find the correct room in the academy, but finally I stopped at one door. Usually, I never really walked around the whole academy, unless I was with Axel. Most of the doors, I had no clue what classes happened behind them. This one, was familiar in a way. I pushed the door open a bit to look inside, scanning the room for the person I was looking for. When I found her, I smiled softly. The club hadn't started yet, so I was just going to sneak inside for a few seconds to see her. A few eyes watched over me with a strange glance, but eventually, they turned back to what they were doing before. Other's recognized me in an instant and waved over in my direction like I would disappear before their eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I sat down across from the blond. She did not look up from her work, not even noticing that I was there. Carefully, I took out the small square box from jacket pocket, taking the silver music box out of its container, and placed it out in front of her. I still kept the cotton underneath it though, knowing that she would probably like it better that way. I took another deep breath, keeping myself from weeping out of control.

My mother's voice came into mind. "Naminé, however, is just beginning to sink. Some things that she sees are just foggy because she's losing her way. She still has a light, but it's only faded a little. I never lose hope, though. One day, something will happen, and she will finally resurface. I just know she will."

A pain in my heart told me that I failed her, as an older brother and as a friend. When she needed my help the most, I wasn't there to help her. I was the coward to run away, to leave and disappear from the place that inflicts so much pain on me. When I walked away from that, I now realized that I walked away from another person who I could have helped. I didn't comprehend then that she could have been feel worse that I did. I didn't realize…

If I was the same person I was years ago, I probably would have broken down by now, crying my heart out for forgiveness. It's been years since I've seen her. She calls to talk form here to there but lately, there had been no communication between us. The rift continued to grow and now I barely even exist in her world now.

Slowly, I got up from my seat and headed towards the door. When I was out the door, I looked through the glass window on the door to see her gaze go from the portrait she was working on, up to her pencil, then out towards the box. Her blue eyes widened, staring directly at the silver music box. Slowly, she put her pencil down and reached out towards it. I chuckled watching as she opened it. The top part was made of glass, having a starry night backdrop behind it. Three glass dancers came up from the flooring of the music box to dance around a golden angel in the middle. As the song finished its melody, they fell back down, and she closed the lid to read what was inscribed.

"Happy Birthday, Naminé." I said softly as I walked away from the door. This made my heart become lighter, the sight of seeing my baby sister surprised from a mysterious gift. Of course, it wasn't that mysterious because I put 'From your brother' on the lid also.

Happy with my deeds for today, I walked back into the auditorium. Most of the lights had already been shut off, only a few shinning down upon the empty stage. The lone piano that Mr. Stan uses for the musicals sat slightly in the dim light, creating a strange appearance to the abandon audience.

I sat down in the back row of the room, placing my feet up on the seat in front of me. My eyelids felt heavy, as I did not get any sleep last night. All night I thought about what I had to do on this very particular day. Now that I was finished, maybe I can have some time to relax. My eyelids dropped down, feeling at peace with myself. The dimming lights made it tranquil, easier to lose consciousness into my dreamland. Unlike so many places, you could barely hear the _Pitter Patter _of the rain from here.

_Pitter Patter Pit Pat…_

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open. My body jolting upward, noticing that I've drifted off. The first thing I did was check my watch, seeing that I've took a two hour nap. "Wha-? How could I be so stupid?" Sighing, I lowered my feet from the seats in front of me. "I can't believe I actually let myself fall asleep."

Then, I heard a faint noise of a piano playing. My neck moved my head to look forward once more, staring at the piano in the spotlight. At first, I could not see the maker of this beautiful melody, but then I saw the top of the head of the instrumentalist.

The music sounded so complex, but smoothed the being while you listened. The music was light on his fingers, moving around the black and white surface. Maybe he was a music major? But why would he be alone, in the auditorium after hours?

Slowly, I preceded closer, ducking down behind a few of the seats so I wouldn't be spotted by the unknown musician. As I could see, he wore a navy blue bandana around his head, moving his oddly colored hair back out of his face. His clothes were a plain white dress shirt with a black pair of jeans, dressier than most of the other students who went here.

As I moved closer to the front row, I continued bumping into many of the seats on accident. Thankfully, the musician never noticed anything and continued playing his melody. Finally, I reached the front row, where I sat down in one of the seats adjacent to the piano.

The music, along with the distant _Pitter Patter _came together as one giving off a sound unlike any other I've heard before. As it came to an end, I felt as a pair of eyes settled on my being. Looking up, I met the gaze of the musician. His eyes were a cobalt blue, widened from the unexpected appearance of myself in the audience. Slowly, he stood up from his seat, turning back to look at the piano.

At his movements, I got up from my seat as well. I studied his actions as he hurriedly looked around, trying to set everything back in it's proper place. It almost looked as if he was afraid that I might get him into trouble. "I'm sorry. I was just…" Suddenly, I looked down, noticing how quiet my voice was. There was no reason for me to become shy at the moment. Even as I told myself that, my voice was just a mere whisper. "I heard you playing. You're very good."

His movements ceased, as if he was frozen from my words. Not turning around to face me, he answered back in soft tone. "Thank you."

I placed my hands in the large pockets of my olive jacket, thinking of what to say next. Maybe saying nothing would be enough. The guy didn't seem to be a very talkative one, anyway. My eyes wondered from the piano, to its keys, to the empty seats, but always made their's way back to the musician. "You're a music major?"

Now gathering his things, he shook his head. After he put some books into his side bag, the musician slowly descended off the stage. He was standing a few feet away from me, awkwardly folding his arms over his chest. "No. Music is just a side job."

To the comment, I made a sound telling him that I understood. Continuing my gaze, I thought that maybe I should say more. We stood there, the sound of the rain getting louder as the pressure between us increase. "That's the same for me." I took a deep breath, looking away for a second. "I'm sorry; you look like you're in a hurry."

He shook his head, "I'm in no hurry."

I was slightly taken aback from the statement and, frankly, did not know how to react to it. Do I say something? Do I just walk in the other direction? Do I run away because the guy looked as if he was about to jump me?

My fingers ran through my hair as I thought things over. Casual conversation wasn't exactly my forte, especially when I don't know anything about the person I'm talking to. "So… What's your name?"

His eyes lowered to his side bag. Stubbornly, he situated it so the strap wouldn't hit against his neck. "I'm not sure that my name is any of your concern."

"What? You're afraid that I might tell?" I teased.

I received a glare from the other before he walked past me towards the exit. By the looks of it, he was just a little bit smaller than I was. His frame was smaller too, but looked somewhat muscular. "I'm not afraid of anything of the sort. I'm… I just…"

As the door opened slightly, I placed an open hand on it to close it once more. He just looked up at me with a deathly glare. "You're what?" A smile arose on my lips at how he acted towards me. Somehow, from hanging out with Axel for all these years, I've always found me having an interest in the people who hate my guts. Strange, but true.

The other glared up again, very annoyed sine I'm now blocking the closest exit. "Remove your hand before someone removes it for you."

The smirk sat firm on my lips. So what if I was frustrating a fellow classmate? All I wanted to know was his name- not even full name but first name- and he wouldn't even give me that! "Go right ahead. It's not like I'm actually blocking the door for a real reason."

"Sarcasm doesn't sound so pleasant when you say it. You're probably not made for mockery." He commented, situating the blue bandana that was tied over his head. Carefully, he took a hold of my hand and lazily took it off the door.

When my hand was back at my side, I simply smirked even more. "See… Now that wasn't that bad…"

The musician scoffed before roughly pulling the door open and walking out of the lonely auditorium. Just wondering to myself about what could happen, I followed the silver haired one. When we reached the front entrance of the building, he spun around. "I am not afraid of calling the police on you."

"Glad to know." My gaze looked out towards the outside world beyond the glass double doors. The _Pitter Patter Pit Pat _of the rain hit hard against any exposed surface that was possible. The dismal street was converted to a drenched ragged pathway. The pattern of the rain will probably continue this cycle and end up flooding the whole city once more.

The other must have caught my gaze because he too was staring out at the weather. "This is exactly why I hate this city." My eyebrow rose as he sighed and began to walk out into the pouring rain. Quickly, I walked into the almost abandoned office, looking off to the side for the lost and found. No, it's not considered stealing when the owner doesn't want it to begin with. Grabbing the item I wanted, I chased after the musician who was walking up the soaked street. I watched as his eyes widened when I held the black umbrella over his small being. Swiftly, he turned around to be face to face with me. "Why are you consistently stalking me?"

"Because I want something." I answered truthfully. Surprisingly, he did not act as annoyed as I thought from my comment. All he really did was move some of his wet hair out of his face and crossed his arms.

"Likewise."

"Oh really?" Someone drove past, causing us to move away so the splash from the puddles couldn't hit to two of us. We moved back to resume the same positions immediately afterwards. Now I watched for the stray cars out of the corner of my eye, hoping that none would sneak up on me. "What would that be?"

His reply was in monotone, barely able to hear from the pouring rain. "That you would leave me alone."

For some odd reason, his explanation made me laugh. Even though he hates me already, I couldn't help letting out a few small chuckles. "Now, now… That's not a very nice thing to say."

Rolling his eyes, he began to walk off. That didn't do much because I continued to follow him, holding tightly onto my black umbrella. Sighing, probably knowing that I wasn't going to give up my act, he said, "I do not have to be nice."

"Well, you don't have to be nice. Being rude isn't such a great quality to have, though. Maybe letting someone inside once in awhile would be a good thing." I explained, running my free hand over the gold chain on my neck.

We continued our walk closer to the downtown area. Following him was causing me to venture farther and farther away from my home. I really did hope that Axel wasn't waiting up on me back at the apartment. Once again, the musician sighed, "I'm perfectly healthy, stable, and everything more by staying the way that I am."

To that, I stopped. "I'm not saying that you're not healthy or anything. Because, well… I don't know you at all." At that, he rolled his eyes at my allegations. That was an action that I saw that I would constantly get from now on. "It's just that it's nice to change up to your routine a bit."

"I do not find being told to change by a complete stranger very delighting."

Another smirk was planted on my face, more hopeful than some of the other smirks. "Maybe we don't have to be such complete strangers."

"Well, maybe that is correct but I, frankly, do not care enough to want the knowledge of your name. Nor anything else about your being for that matter."

How he stated that made my jaw dropped down a bit. It was not only insulting but also even ruder than anyone else could have said it imaginable. Before I could even get out of my shock to reply, we both were showered by an unexpected splash coming from a passing vehicle. The two of us were soaked by the freezing water in an instant. It took a little while for the shock of the cold to wear off, but when it did, I couldn't stop myself from stuttering. "Still, t-that isn't the same f-for me."

The musician's silver hair flopped down in his face. Carefully, he moved his hair, which stuck to the pale skin of his face. His words were still understandable even though his teeth were chattering together. "However, we aren't discussing that, now are we?"

"But, in fact, we are!" Another car drove by, splashing more water onto us. That splash had made the umbrella fall from my hand as I tired to shield my face from getting hit by the frozen water. "W-we're discussing change and I'm just giving my opinion."

Shaking his head, he replied back, "B-but that is different if I actually wanted to hear it!"

"I'm persistent." I admitted to him, still able to keep a smirk on my face even though we were freezing. Now that I didn't have my umbrella, the falling rain drenched us even more.

Glaring back at my smug expression, he said. "I've noticed."

My mouth opened as I was about to say something, but once more some car drove by soaking up with wetness. Some of the water splashed into my open mouth, almost choking me. I sputtered, feeling myself as I tripped over my own feet backwards. Truthfully, I wasn't surprised at all as I fell back into a large puddle.

At my actions, I rolled my own eye dramatically. I couldn't believe how clumsy I could actually be. "Of course you've noticed. By what I can tell, you're very intelligent. Also stubborn but I won't get into that."

The silver haired one was still standing, barely able to hold back a grin from my trip. "I'm glad you have noticed that because you can't seem to notice me not wanting to speak with you."

Slowly, I picked myself up, standing up straight. I didn't even bother brushing myself off since the rain had already ruined my clothes for the day. "That's because you actually want to speak with me."

Raising an eyebrow at my logic, he answered back, "No, I don't believe that is it."

"Eh?" Shrugging, I looked down at the other who was tapping his foot impatiently. Wasn't in a hurry, huh? "Well you could be in denial all you want, s'okay? I mean, it's not like I actually think that I'll ever run into you at school or anything. I mean, that would be crazy…"

Before walking off, he situated his side bag once more. Then another of his beloved death glares was sent in my direction, causing a small whine to escape me. "I pray to the mighty God in heaven that I never see you again."

As I watched as he walked downtown, I couldn't help myself as I felt the corners of my lips curl upwards and a few laughs escaped through my parted lips. Cupping my hands over my mouth, I yelled back to him, "Keep praying!"

Even though we walked our separate ways, the thought of the stranger remained in my mind the whole entire time. I was so intent in thinking of him; I barely noticed the pouring rain that increases its pressure over me with each and every step I took. After what it seemed like an entirety of walking, I was now in the apartment seeing that everyone was in their rooms. I sighed to myself as I pushed the door to my room open, not noticing until the door was locked behind me that a certain red head was asleep on the bed. A smile appeared on my features at the sight. As quietly as I could, I striped off the wet clothes and got into some clean warm sweats.

It wasn't until I looked in the mirror that I noticed the red head was propped up on his elbows and staring at me. I raised an eyebrow at his reflection, "I was wondering how well you would hold up with me being gone for a few hours. I'd just thought you would hire a stripper."

"Eh." Slowly, he stretched out, making his back crack. Every though Axel was just a little older than I was, he seemed like he was an old man now. "Who really needs a stripper around when I could just wait until you came back home. Seriously Dem. Get it memorized by now."

I let a small laugh escape but disguised that to be a scoff. Axel probably could tell what it really was, but I sort of didn't care at the moment. I turned towards him and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Right."

"So what took you so long?

For some odd reason, I didn't feel that I needed to tell him anything. Suddenly, I became quite defensive form my earlier actions. Something was telling me that Axel wouldn't understand my persistency to follow the mysterious other. I continued to keep my lips sealed as I laid back onto my bed. A strange foreign feeling came to mind as the red head rolled over to face me.

"You sure you're okay?" His voice sounded smooth, him and his natural talking genes. I found myself fighting back the urge to turn towards him. Still, my stare was at the ceiling above us.

Slowly, I nodded my head to the question. Was it really wrong to lie to your one and only best friend? Does this technically count as lying when I'm not even telling him anything? Even though it's making my head swirl from all the confusion, I had to keep the truth from him. Just for now.

I listened as he sighed and rolled over. I turned on my side so we faced opposite directions, away from each other. My eyelids drooped downwards as the rain pounded down on the window in a melody. A sweet melody. _Pitter Patter Pit Pat, Pitter Patter Pit Pat, Pitter Patter Pit Pat…_

The last thing I could remember saying was, "It's a curse…"

End of Chapter Two

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Not as long as the other chapter. Still pretty long though. I've done an outline for this story which has little tiny notes of how I want it to go. There is no way that it will ever turn out to be that way. Mainly, I'm afraid that I'll make all the chapters this long. Maybe I should just write a chapter saying _Pitter Patter Pit Pat _and run away.

I hope you enjoyed chapter two!!!

Review if you wish, tell me what you think, suggestions, comments, come on people! I get more out of my two year old niece for the world's sake! …. And comment if you adore Mr. Stan… He humors me… You know you like him…

YourConscience813


	3. Ease My Troubled Mind

Author's Note: Welcome one and all to another edition of Through The Dark Side Of The Moon. This is the story of my life. A sad, sad life. Oh well, I hope that someone out there likes this story. Maybe, kind of? This one happens to be one of my favorites for many reasons. You'll just have to find out what those reasons are, don't you? By the way, I'm a procrastinator… whose doing her work! Yes!

Anyways, enjoy chapter three!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts and that same all tale...

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Chapter Three: Ease My Troubled Mind

Compared to other's who I commonly come in contact with, my life is fairly uncomplicated. Simple story, simple tale. All the pieces are in place. Everyone in the audience knows the characters and their past. The plot is clearly seen. The present has no surprises as we teach ourselves to expect the unexpected. Then there is the future that is yet to come, but we have a pretty clear idea of what it will be.

However, there are glitches in some situations. When the term 'glitches' is used, it usually means that it is the unexpected, looking over the unexpected. It would be like a ninja attack at the White House. It's something that just doesn't happen often. Or at all for that matter. These so called 'glitches' seem to trouble me.

How could I ever know how my life is going to end out? How will I know if I'm supposed to trust a certain person? How am I supposed to know if I can even trust myself? Should I move forward? Should I go at my own pace? Should I move before the crowd? Should I take paper? Should I take plastic? Every question that I can ask myself and answer by myself will help me ease my troubled mind.

Still, sometimes you need help to ease your troubled mind. Sometimes, others don't think so kindly in offering you a helping hand.

A week had past since I stood face to face with the mysterious musician. There was no sign of him when I looked around the drama classes. He must not have been a drama major either, nor an art major since I never saw him in any of Naminé's classes. Even though his physical features were not there in front of me anymore, it didn't help my mind. My mind screamed for me to find him. It wanted me to find out his name.

"Hey, Dem." Axel smirked at the sight of me. We were standing outside our apartment building in our light jackets. The rain was lighter than it usually was, gentle against the skin. However, it still incased this town in a covering of thick clouds. The sound of _Pitter Patter Pit Pat _emittedas the rain droplets hit out jackets. It was too depressing, making me feel unease in the morning hours. Axel was the only one who seemed to notice it, "You look sick? You sure you've been feeling alright, pal?"

I nodded slowly, not looking directly into his eyes. I could hear the sarcasm in his tone as he took in my lie as truth. There was no lying to the red head. Sure, I've been able to tell a few white lies that got past his sensitive radar, but like this time, he could tell that I wasn't telling him the truth. That's a good and a bad thing about Axel; he could tell when something was really wrong.

"So, I was going to ask you…" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. The look on his face then turned to an enthusiastic smirk. At that, I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. This had to be an exciting story of some nature. "… The photography class and the modeling class are doing this special program where we have to work together. A modeler and a photographer working together."

My eyes widened as I realized what the other was talking about. The corners of my lips soon turned upward. Could he really be making a decision like this or was he just messing around with me again. Axel was known to do that to me on some occasions. He's usually uncomfortable talking about his line of work, mainly because he didn't think that he was good at all. However, he isn't able to see that he's one of the best. "Are you serious? Axel! This is fantastic!"

"Fantastic?" An eyebrow rose, showing the red head's confusion. Once more, he must have been messing around and leading me onto another outcome. I could be easily fooled that way. "Yeah, I guess it's fantastic that I'm not going to be there…"

Laughing unamused, I asked, "What are you talking about Axel? You need to go to this event… I know how you feel about modeling but you have to look on the bright side of this situation." His eyebrow intensified in height, awaiting my next comment. "At least these people won't ask you to take off you clothes or anything. Well… I don't think they will… You never know…"

He snorted at my unsure remark, the sound making me join in with a small chuckle. "I only wanted you to know because it will give us more time to hang out today. Seriously, I don't think they really want someone like me wondering around hopelessly in that place."

How could I tell him that he was the best model in our school? Axel may have the talent of eavesdropping on people, but I have the true talent of receiving information on accident. No one would really suspect me to be a bad guy in a situation, and they portray me to be the good, honest and trusting guy. I am, that's not the point that I was originally getting at. People trust me and tell me everything that they know, even if I don't want to hear it.

My red headed best friend had been in many magazines, ever since he was a child. Every photographer has dreams of a model with the qualities of Axel. He was meant for the job, but didn't believe that he was good enough. That was one of the main points in his weight problem and hate towards magazines. It's a sad thing to say it, but he was wrong about that.

"Axel." I started firmly, "You have to make sure that you're making the right decision on this. Think it through and if you really want, I'll go with you to the photo shoot to help you feel just a tiny bit at ease with yourself. I don't want to see you throw something that's really going to be good for you away."

"Really…?" We exchanged glanced, ivy green on ocean blue for a long time. Slowly, I nodded my head at his question, hoping that he wouldn't throw this chance away. Nevertheless, I would not give my hopes up either when he decides against it. I bit on my lips as the air thickened in suspense. I would do anything for my best friend to help him open his eyes to the world. "I'll give you an answer after school when I met you backstage, alright?"

I agreed to his plan, wondering if it was his plan all along to keep me on my toes. He was conniving like that which made me believe it was true. His plan to keep me thinking about him all day would be an easy scheme to pull off since my mind usually wondered off to a dreamland during class.

The rest of the way to school was merely quiet compared to other days. We briefly talked about the special project concerning him, about some of the photographers in the other class but he pushed it aside. There was other small talk about the weather, which was rainy. Then the rest was silence besides the _Pit Pat _of rain.

We walked inside the school, making our way towards the auditorium where many different students were buzzing around the entryway. Both Axel and I quirked an eyebrow at the crowd and found that they were not only blocking the entrance, but wouldn't pay a second of attention to us to inform us why they were crowding around the drama room.

Soon, after being ignored of our questions many times, we decided to go outside and try to go in through the backstage. We thought that it would be easier than dealing with these people first hand. When we arrived there, the doors double doors were clear, so we easily made it inside the backstage area. As for the actual entrance leading to the stage, that was another story.

Another large group crowded around the entrances to the stage and auditorium. It was as if these people were stalking someone who was in the room, which neither of us doubted. At this academy, many of the students were stalked for many different reasons. The main one was because they were related to someone famous, but the smart ones kept that business quiet. That was what we suspected since no one would give us a clear answer on why they were actually there.

We quickly made our way up to the catwalk that, surprisingly, wasn't sprawled out with people. They were probably afraid that it would collapse once they were up there. Once up there, we looked down to see some of the drama students seated uncomfortably in their seats. All of them glancing towards the doors every now and then, watching the crowd of people trying to get in through the entrance. Then we looked over at the stage where Axel pointed out someone new.

"Now that must be the new director that they were going to send over to help with the play." He pointed out a new face on the stage. Actually, to me, the face wasn't new at all. The face made me gawk at the refreshing sight.

His blue eyes stared fixedly on the doors, annoyance clearly written across his facial features. He was dressed in a dress shirt and pants that suited him better than it would on anyone else. His slate colored hair shone of silver from the stage lights and was tied back behind a light blue colored bandana, just like a week ago.

That's when I saw Axel scoff out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to him, he just stared at me with a blank expression. "I'm not surprised that other people find him attractive… But you? Demyx… Of all the people in the world… You actually find that guy attractive?"

I could feel as my cheeks heated up as I thought about it. I was always a one to be red in the face at a comment like that. Even if I wasn't supposed to blush, I would. Somehow, I was meant to blush at everything possible. My mother always blushed, so that was probably where I got that genetic from.

I could almost remember her face as she blushed. The memories of her clung on tightly so I would always remember her. Hopefully, I always will.

Quickly, I cleared my throat before I began and made a prayer in my mind that I wouldn't stutter as I spoke. Truthfully, I knew that the praying wouldn't help one bit. "What? What are you talking about? There's no way that I find that guy any bit attractive. I mean- seriously, Axel. Do you really think that a guy like that is actually my type? W- Why would you even think such a thing?"

He continued to stare at me blankly, but it was an expression that I got a lot of the time from the red head. Actually, I loved this expression. It made me think of him as a famous movie star. It made him give off this brilliant vibe that few people can give off. That was another aspect that I envied about the red head.

"Well… For one thing." He pointed to the side of his lower lip, tapping it gently. "It's just that when you were staring at him, I noticed that you started to drool all over yourself. So, I guess that you better clean that off before someone else gets the wrong idea too. And number two… You're fidgeting with your necklace showing that you're trying to hide something from me."

The necklace part I could believe since I always fidgeted with it no matter if I was hiding something or not. However, I had to turn around so I could check to see if I was actually drooling, which I found that I was. That really didn't help my blushing problem at all. My face felt as if it was on fire. "I don't like him. Seriously, once you meet the guy, you'll understand what I mean. His stubbornness is a huge turn off."

Before I even knew what I had said, Axel was giving me a curious look. He opened his mouth to ask how I had met him before, but then closed it a few seconds later. It was better left unsaid. "Well, whatever man. That guy seems to be getting a lot of attention for some reason."

I nodded, wondering when the huge crowd of people would disappear. You really never saw a lot of people in one place at this school. They were all spread apart and it must be because of a disaster that they would crowd together. Another thought that I hadn't realized earlier was how the others who were in the auditorium had gotten inside since all the entrances were blocked? How could we even get inside?

Right then, the bell rang and you could hear the sighs of the crowd together in unison. As we began to descend from the catwalk, we could see all the students filing out of the double doors out towards their classes.

I waved to Axel who was following the crowd and told him that I'll meet up with him later. He agreed and we parted our separate ways. Soon, I found myself not the only person who was late for the drama class.

I took my place in my usual seat, staring up at the new director on the stage. Thankfully, he hadn't realized that I was even in this class or he just chose to ignore me all together. I believed that he didn't see me, but of course, I wouldn't be the one to doubt the second one either. One thing that was sure, the praying didn't help on his behalf, making a small smile form on my face.

Once everyone was seated, he began to explain to us who he was. That included the main thing that I wanted to know. His name. "Hello. My name is Zexion Schema and I'm here since Mr. Stan is still in recovery at the hospital. I'm a senior director at this academy and here to help direct the spring performance this year. Any questions?"

As some people asked questions, I thought about his name. Zexion. An unusual name. Well, I couldn't say much about unusual names since mine is quite unusual also. Who really names there children Demyx? I'm actually happy with my name since no one else in this world has the exact same name. It's unique. So is Zexion.

Class passed as usual besides the part that Zexion was a greater teacher than most who had to go to school to teach. Everyone paid close attention to what he had to say and listen carefully since he spoke so softly. Everything went smoothly and according to plan for the rest of class.

Like most days, class came to an end as all the students rushed out of the double door in a rush, leaving me alone in the room with the teacher. This time, the teacher just so happened to be the mysterious musician from a week before. This gave me an opportunity to finally talk to the senior director names Zexion, even though I knew in the back of my mind that this would not end nicely.

Slowly, I made my way up the side steps onto the stage, eyeing the smaller one as if he was prey. Like before, he was gathering his thing, stuffing books into his bag without a care in the world. He didn't realize anything out of the ordinary until I decided to clear my throat right behind of him.

I watched closely as he jumped in surprise, rapidly spinning around on his heels. His bright crystal blue eyes met mine once more, this time not so much in annoyance but more in a state of shock. It was an expression that made my lips turn upward into a slight smirk.

"Well hello… Zexion Schema." I spoke with a satisfactory attitude, showing him that he may have won the battle a week ago, but I had won the war. It was something that was making my inner self laugh madly at the whole ordeal even though it meant nothing to normal people. Of course, I've already distinguished that I'm not a normal person in the least bit.

His brows came together at my mocking tone, and probably my face had something to do with it. It was a great possibility. Zexion turned away from me quickly to shove the rest of his belonging into his side bag, showing that he wanted to get as far away from me as possible. "What are _you_ doing here again? I thought I made it clear to keep far away from me?"

"That would have worked out, ya'know… I didn't expect you to be a director. You're way too quiet for that kind of job." Looking over his slim shoulder in my direction, his eyes narrowed into another hate filled death glare. One of his specialties, I supposed. "But… I'm one of the students in this class… So, I guess you're way of hiding just doesn't work out too well. Fancy that, huh?"

"Do you not know how to shut up?" Suddenly he blurted out, catching me by surprise. For some reason, when I first met him I highly doubted that his tone could ever go past the whispering volume. His personality just did not show any enthusiastic changes in tone or expressions. Could he even smile?

I gave a small chuckle as he slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed past me. As he was descending the stares, I turned to watch and yell back, "You'll learn to love it later on."

"I highly doubt that."

Silence filled the enormous empty room. You could distantly hear the _Pitter Patter _of the rain that made the other sigh and say something close to 'Not again.' My expression changed. In long strides, I walked over to him. A frown settled on my face as I asked the question that was on my mind. "Why, then?"

What surprised me even more than the outburst earlier was that he understood what I meant by my question. If it had been anyone else, they would have to have me elaborate on what I was asking.

"You go by the script, how the audience expects you to act. Never something stunning. You may be good in exercises, but you have to loosen up. Show the audience something that they wouldn't expect from you. Put enthusiasm in it. If you were in my play, I would say 'Cut, you suck, get off my stage…'"

As he told me this, I could feel as my jaw fell open upon hearing it. I could take the criticism, but since it was him telling me this, it made everything different. "Wait! Oh, how I do feel so flattered that you actually noticed me today! But you're the one who's telling me to loosen up? Have you ever looked in a mirror? Or sat down perhaps? That stick must be pretty far up there if you can't notice it?"

Slowly, he turned back around to face me, glaring up since I was still on the stage and that there was a tremendous height difference now. Apparently, I've made him angry by 'some' comment. "Excuse me? I highly doubt that you want to start this fight with me! Do you know anything about me? No! You know why that is? Because you don't know me! At all!"

"I know enough about you to know that you're so uptight that you push everyone away from you!"

At once, he silenced. In a harsh tone, he snapped quietly, "How can you tell something like that about me? You've only known two days worth of me. That's not enough time to know the life biography of a person, if you did not know before."

I could feel my heart racing in my chest, my blood pressure rising. Personally, I wasn't the one to start a fight since I really couldn't. This was different though. I hope that if things did get physical, I could take him in a few minutes instead of getting it handed to me once again. "It's the way you look at someone. You look at them like they don't exist and that they are a nuisance to your world. Like everyone is a nobody in your somebody world." Narrowing my eyes, I added, "If you did not know before."

Out of nowhere, I felt as if I was falling through air. My legs were pulled from underneath of me, making me fall backwards and seeing the world from a different view. Not as hard as I had been expecting, I hit the back of my head off the floor of the stage. There was not much feeling left on the back of my head since the last time I was in a fight some time ago.

The next thing I knew, before I even had time to react to my situation, Zexion was on the stage with his bag thrown to the side. I still couldn't figure out how I had gotten on my back in the first place, but I knew that was on the bottom of my list of problems. Still stunned by the sudden pain, he began to brutally kick at my sides that I was blocking with my hands. Finally, I was able to grab a hold of one foot and pull him down violently to the floor in one good tug.

He landed with a thud beside of me. As rapidly as I could, I climbed over top of him and started throwing aggressive punches wherever I could. The thing that made it even more difficult was that he was trying to scratch my face away from this very existence. Seriously, the stale haired one had sharper nails than many of the girls that I've known.

Once again, he kicked and scratched his way to getting me on my back again. I could feel as cool blood ran down the side of my face, but I paid no attention to the pain. I had to walk away victorious. After a few more punches on his behalf, I managed to flip his small frame over again.

Then again, I wasn't exactly looking to where I was flipping us, which was off of the stage and landing on top of one another down in the orchestra section.

A small whine escaped his pale blood covered lips. It seemed like I punched him a few times in the jaw, due to the amount of blood in his mouth. His eyes were closed as he tried to get a hold of himself and not to pay any attention to the high amount of pain his was in at the moment. His bandana had slid down, halfway covering his eyes.

He fell flat on his back with a heavier being on top of him; this probably was the correct place to end this ruthless battle.

I could feel that my face was red hot and that the two of us were breathing rather hard from the random act. My body was screaming for me to run and get a hold of myself once again. Still, my eyes were focused on the petite one below me. Gently, I moved his bandana up so it wasn't in his eyes anymore. My hand grazed across his soft silverish hair, finding itself behind his head.

Nothing was registering in my mind. It felt as if my body wasn't my own and that it began to act on its own. My heart was thudding in unison with his, the only thing that I could hear. His whimpers were no longer heard in this mental state of mind. My own body was foreign to me, acting as it wishes with no consent of my mind.

The last thing I saw was his eyes fluttering open in confusion before I tenderly pushed my lips against his. It was brief, only lasting just a couple of seconds. It was just enough to get him to freeze at the act. When I pulled back, I stared fixedly into his wondrous eyes. "Was that… 'unexpected' enough for you?"

His answer was hushed, like he couldn't put together the right phrases to say. Not giving him enough time to say another word, I stood up and began to walk away towards the backstage. I did not dare to look back at the mess that we made in this short amount of time.

Roughly, I pushed away everything in my path to get into the backstage area. As soon as I walked in, Axel opened the double doors leading outside. Not stopping for anything, I stomped out into the pouring rain with a very confused red head following behind me.

"Yo, Dem!" He yanked on my arm, pulling me back. It halted my movements since he was obviously much stronger than I was. I did not even want to imagine the outcome of a fight between Axel and me. I looked up at his worried green eyes. "Christ, Demyx! What the hell happened to you?"

Both of his hands clutched onto my arms, holding me close to him. I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling myself relax in his arms. The cold rain hitting against my skin was surprising helping also. Opening my eyes, I answered him. "I just got in a fight. Everything's over, and I'm totally fine… Just- urgh!" I just wanted to run away. "Forget it!"

"No! You don't look fine at all. Got it memorized?" He brushed the side of my face, examining the cuts and bruises. Then he pulled my chin up so he could see my lips which were probably bloody for another reason. "Who did this to you Demyx? I need to know so I can go and kick their pretty li--"

I pushed his hand away, cutting his sentence off. "It's over, Axel. Plus most of this blood isn't mine." I demonstrated my reasoning by washing off my face in the rain, showing that most of the blood really wasn't mine. "See, I'm totally a-okay. Everything's intact, so I think it's an A plus."

Axel nodded, rubbing my arms in attempt to calm me down even more. "Alright, I understand that part. I just… This is your second fight, wasn't it?"

"More or less."

He looked away, his eyes showing that he was troubled. Axel knew about the first fight I've ever had. The reason why I usually avoided any fight I possibly could. At least this time, no real damage was noticeable. Axel didn't have to know about the last part of the fight that was really damaging.

"Anyways," I began, wanting to change the subject as quickly as I could. "You want to go down to the photo shoot? I'm sure that I have enough fight in me to stand through that shindig."

Axel, he was a smart person at times. He knew exactly what to do when someone was angry and how he could calm them down. This was one of those rare instances. "Sure, unless you want to go home and rest after that. If not then I see nothing to complain about."

We walked in the pouring rain together in silence, giving me a chance to regain my composer. By the time we reached the wing of the academy where the photo shoot was being held, I was completely back to my normal self. Unless you wanted to count my mental state that was totally screwed up from the fight. I kept thinking about the kiss and wondering why I had done that. It was rash and nothing that I would have done. What made me change?

Once we were inside, all the photographers stopped to stare at the red head as we stepped inside the building. Their gaze in awe at his figure and features. Many began to crowd around the teacher in charge, asking if they could change partners. From what it seemed, all were turned down and stubbornly went back to their spots with their original models.

The photography teacher escorted Axel and me to one of the last shoots in the room. I sat out of the way against a wall as the instructor told Axel that his partner would arrive in a few minutes and to wait here. By the tone of his voice, he knew that Axel was known for skipping events like this.

I twiddled my thumbs, occasionally muttering encouraging comments over to the nervous red head. Even as I did this, I could concentrate on what I was saying. My mind was all the way back at the auditorium, with the one called Zexion Schema. I disgusted myself every time I thought about his name, his face, his voice, anything about that stupid guy.

Suddenly, I was pulled out of my thoughts as a young blond came over to our shoot and began to set up the cameras. He glanced over to Axel and smiled. "Hi, I'm Roxas Feallan." His great blue eyes held onto the other's gaze. "I'm you're partner for this project."

From where I was sitting, I could practically hear Axel cheering to himself in his mind. The mesmerized expression on his face spoke for itself. His eyes were scanning over the body in front of him. The blond was shorter than both me and Axel, but not as short as Zexion. He has spiky hair that was a honey blond and a pair of bright blue eyes at Axel was literally lost in at the moment.

Once more, from a thought that had nothing to do with that stupid guy, Zexion made his way into my thoughts again! Why won't he leave me alone?

"Well, hello there." Axel said smoothly, making the one named Roxas laugh at his sad attempt to impress him. Sadly, I was waiting for 'babe' or 'beautiful' to come over his greeting. That's just the kind of person the red head was. "I'm Axel. A. X. E. L. Got it memorized?"

The blond rolled his eyes at his famous catchphrase, but smirked regardless. "I will since there's not too many guys who use the phrase 'got it memorized' in normal - human- conversations."

I watched as Axel laughed at the blond's clever little joke. They continued to flirt with one another throughout the whole photo shoot. Roxas would act like he was getting annoyed, but when my friend wasn't look, I could tell by the look on his face that he liked him too. Sometimes you need another set of eyes to see the whole picture in a situation such as this.

The photo shoot took around an hour to complete for the day. It wouldn't have mattered to me if it went on for twenty more hours, I probably would have been feeling the same way that I did. Still cursing at my mind as I tried not to think about a certain someone when everything leads back to him. Why that was? Why does Zexion bother me so much?

Axel and Roxas exchanged phone numbers with each other as I waited by the door. The blond still acted as if he was annoyed by the other's corny pick up lines that he consistently used on him, making me chuckle. Then as the red head walked towards me, I watched the blond who was talking with the instructor. If he looked over his shoulder at the red head, he was totally in to him.

It took a matter of two seconds for the blue eyes to turn back at the red head who was putting his jacket back on by the main doors.

"Well, well, well. It seems that you have the hots for a certain somebody, huh? And you make fun of me for liking someone. Gosh…" I teased, playfully jabbing at my friend's ribs as we exited the complex.

He ran a hand through his red spikes, not making eye contact with me. His ivy eyes stared directly at the road in front of us. "What are you talking about, Dem? How 'bout you open your eyes and smell the roses? That guy is clearly not into me." Then it took him a minute to think about the last part. "Frankly… You just have bad taste in people…"

Laughing at his obliviousness, I turned my head towards him. "Only an idiot would believe that someone who clearly thought you were annoying would continue to talk to you. Seriously, Axel. If Roxas really thought you were that annoying, he wouldn't even bother working with you. He probably would have asked to change."

Rolling his eyes at my logic, he shook his head. Frowning, he looked over and told me, "Think what you want Dem. I know he's not interested in me…"

"He gave you his phone number for Pete's sake!" I exclaimed, emphasizing the word with hand gestures. I wondered how someone like Axel could believe that someone did not like him. Everyone adored the red head. There was no real reason to it. The only hard part about it was if Axel showed any form of affection towards you. "Why wouldn't he be interested in you?"

"He's probably straight…"

I let out a sigh as I rolled my eyes at him. Of course Axel had to be the one to think of every possible thing that could go wrong in a situation. He babbled on for a few minutes about how guys like that are always straight, making me sigh. After that, we continued our walk to our apartment building and soon found ourselves outside on the fire escape.

Sitting down crossed legged, I listened closely to the rain as it flooded the entire city. _Pitter Patter Pit Pat. _Axel was leaning against the broken railing with his eyes closed, concentrating on the sound of the droplets as well. Even though I hated the rain with a flaming intense passion, I couldn't help but love the peaceful vibe that it gives off. It could help me get through any tough situation by creating an undisturbed environment.

Sighing, my fingers reached for my neck as a habit. They reacted, flexing over my chilled bare skin. Right then my eyes flashed open in a state of panic as I realized that something was horribly wrong. "Oh god…"

Axel quirked an eyebrow at my displeasure, pushing himself away from the ledge to gaze down at me. "What's wrong?"

Panicking, I began to pat myself down; making sure that it wasn't with me before I go off. After a few minutes, I found that it wasn't anywhere on that and me I had lost it. I bet I knew exactly where I had lost it also. The thought of it terrified me even more than the thought of losing it.

"That idiot!"

My red headed companion stayed quiet as I continued to curse and yell at the person who obviously wasn't there to be blamed. It stayed like that for the rest of the night until I finally came up with a clever plan to confront him for the special item.

This certainly wasn't helping my mental state of mind.

End of Chapter Three

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My god, my eyes are burning! I'm in my room listening to Punk Rock music as loud as it can go in the dark at three in the morning. I've been through around twelve bottles of caffeinated flavored water. Oh yeah, I'm going to pass out. God, I hope that the next chapters aren't going to take so much strength as this one did. Zexion beat the crap out of me…

I hope you enjoyed chapter three!!!

Review if you wish, tell me what you think, suggestions, comments, come on people! Even if you want to say something totally random, say it. I don't really mind… If you've read some of my other reviews, you'll notice that I don't care about random.

YourConscience813


	4. Something To Do With You

Author's Note: Hello everyone to another chapter of Through the Dark Side of the Moon. Well… All I have to say is that there's a lot of people who put Alerts on this story. More than most of my other stories. More people have been reading this which makes me even more happy. Plus, I'm sorry that I haven't been updating for awhile. I've been ill for quite some time. Anyways, I like this story more than any of my other stories and I hope you do too.

Thank you to all who reviewed. Please, enjoy chapter four!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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Chapter Four: Something To Do With You

Days had passed by, but instead of leaving behind the past events of earlier, it only developed even more havoc on my behalf. Somehow, it has seemed that the person that I was desperately searching for has dropped off the face of this tiny planet. Everywhere that I looked, he wasn't to be found. Even at school, he wasn't anywhere. It was a possibility that he was just a great hider, but I was not satisfied with that conclusion. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month, causing me to quietly go insane inside my own mind.

Finally, today was the day that I decided to truly track him down. The insignificant game of cat and mouse between the two of us has gone on for long enough. I had to get the item that I cherished with all my being and soul back from him. He has to have it since it was nowhere to be seen in the auditorium. Tracking him down wouldn't be the hard part about this mission. The difficult part that I am dreading to no end is the part where I have to confront him.

After asking many of his admirers that were stalking him the first day he was in the auditorium, I heard that he liked to hang around the public library that was downtown after school. Though, it would help if I had the slightest clue to where the building was located. I never ventured out without Axel to guide me around. This was his town.

I told Axel that I had some errands to run after school and to not wait up for me at the apartment for a while. He frowned, causing me to reassure him, "Go do something with Roxas for awhile. Just go have some fun."

The day after he met Roxas, it turned out that the blond called and asked if he wanted to go see a movie that night. Axel really didn't believe that it was meant to be a real date but once the blond made the move of a first kiss, the red head was practically floating on cloud nine. I have never seen my best friend so happy before in my entire existence. Of course, he has had past relationships but nothing as serious as this one. They cannot compare in the least bit. Now, the two are going steady and are probably meant to be with one another by the looks of it.

Axel had told me a few weeks after I met him that he was bisexual. He said that he did not want things to be awkward. Especially later on when I found out some other way, he did not want to lose a friend. Though I wasn't sure how to handle the news exactly, I found later on that it was a good idea to tell me then. Thankful even. He told that he was bisexual ever since he was thirteen.

I always hated the stereotyping that every guy in the arts has to be gay. Outsider of the academy would always think that. In reality, it's not true. Many of the performers are straight and, frankly, have better relationships than the one who are making fun of them. People are so closed minded about things, not seeing the actual picture. People are under the surface of the water. However, as I was turning sixteen, I realized that I wasn't one of those people. Sure, I had gone out with some girls before, but that's when I realized that I wasn't actually interested in them. The chemistry was incoherent.

I departed after the class was over, exiting the academy into the falling rain. Others were hoping that I would stay after school to help with the play that was in December. Only one month away. Even though I was always happy to give a hand to the productions, I needed to get this done. I've waited way too long. The winter play was not all too important as the spring play anyway, so I had faith in the others that they could deal with the preparations.

I quickly pulled my hood up on the jacket and continued my way downtown. Downtown was large, but thankfully, the public officials were smart enough to put a map at every bus stop you came to. That was the highlight of my day so far. After taking the bus halfway, it only took a matter of ten minute to find my way to the mysterious public library and walk inside.

Inside was quiet but also enormous in size, which meant the Pitter Patter from outside, was echoing throughout the whole complex. I sighed, noticed how massive it actually was. There were two stories with over one hundred selves placed in long rows on all sides. There was around six sitting areas that I could see and a large front desk as you walk in.

I smiled over at the woman who was staring suspiciously at me from behind the circular wooden checkout desk. She smiled back and continued to do what she had been working on before I had walked in.

Gradually, I made my through the aisles of the library, searching for something that was far more important than just any book. After searching the entire first floor and finding nothing, I made my way up the staircase to the second level. Even as I was looking for him, I looked at a few books on the shelves to act as if I was looking for something. Someone would get suspicious if I was in the library and didn't have some type of reading or studying material in my hands.

After taking one thick book off one of the shelves, I could see the one I was searching for from that new opening on the shelf. It was impeccable chance. He was sitting with perfect posture in a chair, reading a tattered old book. The title was torn off and unreadable. A small pair of glasses sat on the bridge of his nose that I hadn't seen before. Then I could see a bruised and busted lip that he still was recovering from weeks ago.

His mind was caught in the book, not noticing me hiding behind one of the bookcases. Hiding quite poorly, I might add. His eyes were hidden behind thick lashes, blinking every few seconds. It reminded me of the fight as he was gasping for air, his eyes fluttering open in a confused matter.

I held the book close to my face, at least close enough where it wasn't visible to anyone. This was somewhat ridiculous but it was all for the necklace. At first, I did not even realize that I was holding it upside down until I tried to read some of the words. It did not matter, I was sure that he would not notice it. Slowly, I moved away from the bookcase and sat down in a chair that was directly behind of the other. I raised an eyebrow as I set the book down.

It took a few moments of deep breathing for me to get the nerve to say anything to him. Of course, I did not know how he would react to my presence stalking him around town once again. After the whole ordeal a month ago, I would have thought that he would have put it behind us. Obliviously, I was wrong with my assumption.

"You didn't have to quit, you know." I began slowly, wondering if he was even still behind me. The ruffle of clothing as he turned around told me that he was. "It really wasn't a huge deal."

I turned to look over my shoulder and was met with those stunning eyes once again. I had to actually try to keep myself from smiling at the sight. I bit down on my lower lip then. During that time, he did not say anything to my presence or even to answer my question. We just stood there, staring into each other's eyes for a very awkward amount of time.

I spun myself clear around in my seat, completely facing him now. My eyes dropped down to the back of the wooden chair as I thought about what I was going to say next. Wait a second, what was I going to say next? I did not go through all the plans step by step that was probably going to do me in at the end. I could not exactly demand for him to present the necklace since I did not know if he had it or not. I didn't want to risk the chance of making an idiot of myself in front of him once again. It seems that I've done enough of that already.

"Why are you here?" He said in a whispered tone, shaking his head in disbelief. Sadly, it sounded as if he was speaking to himself instead of me. Even though he was staring directly at me, I could tell that he would rather not speak to me.

"I want to make everything up to you." In truth, I really had guilt on my shoulders ever since the fight. Now, just seeing the damage that was really done increased the guilt by a million. Being one of the thousands who could not deal with guilt, there had to be something I could do to make it up with him. That was only half of the plan for the whole mission. "We can go to this café across the street. It's down by the park. We can talk over some coffee or something. I'll pay."

I watched as he opened his mouth, and then quickly closed it as he thought it over in his mind. Quietly, I waited patiently as he thought hard about what to do. It would go either way; yes or no. Both ways would not matter to me as long as I had the necklace back in my possession and that he knew that I tried to make things better. I just thought that going to a café to talk would make this much easier.

He closed his book following a long sigh. His thick eyelashes fluttered close as he made a move to stand. "Fine, I don't care."

Sure, it was apparent that he did not care. Was he trying to mock me? Question my intelligence? Through all that, I kept my face serious, trying to tell him that this was just business. It would not help if he thought I was going to jump him on the side of the street. However, I highly doubt that he hadn't thought that over.

We both made our way out of the quiet library and into the rain in silence. The awkwardness between us had not died down but had increased itself by a million. Still, we made our way towards the only park in this city where my favorite café was located. It was peaceful and even stretched out into the park where a gazebo rested by the pond and flowing moss covered trees. It was a very beautiful view, but would have been lovelier if it wasn't dark and gloomy all the time.

I held the door as Zexion and I walked into the petite café. Few people were there at this hour, only the usuals who were working alone on their laptops. As I knew however, business would be picking up in an hour or two. Some of the workers behind the counter waved in my direction and greeted me, telling they'll be at my usual table in a second. I lead us over to one of the window seats and sat down, putting our jackets on the back of our seats.

I looked across the table at the other in front of me. His legs were crossed and he would not make eye contact with me; clear signs that he did not want to be here. It was as if he was meeting with death. The nervousness shown clearly from his actions. It didn't help when I tried to make conversation.

"So, why don't you like the rain?"

An eyebrow rose, not only in confusion but just at the question itself. The look on his face gradually made my confidence decrease until there was practically nothing left. Truth be told, my confidence was not very high to begin with. "You are seriously asking me about the weather?"

I blinked a few times before looking out at the rain. Oh wait; maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. How could I be so stupid to actually ask something about the weather? It's raining, it always will be raining, and this guy obviously does not like rain. That's it. Why would anyone like the endless rain? Senseless. Why did I even attempt to speak when I knew this would begin badly? I sighed, "I think we started off on the wrong foot."

He still had the same look plastered on his face, but nodded along to my comment. At least that was all he did. I wouldn't know what to do if he would actually speak to me with the sarcastic tone. Why would this bookish guy have a sarcastic tone to begin with? What was with him? He was so mysterious and acted as if he was so elite than everyone else to not converse with them. Still, he agreed to come to the café, which was an unexpected turn.

Trying to piece together the information in my mind was creating a large headache on my behalf.

There were a few moments where the awkward tension began to take over us once again. During that time, one of the waitresses came over, we ordered. He had a cup of black coffee that made me shiver. I just had water to start with from being disgusted by his choice. As she walked away from our table, I finally said, "Hey, I'm happy to start over again if that's what you really want."

"Start over?" He situated himself in the seat uncomfortably, his arms folded tightly across his petite chest. Looking down for a moment, I waited until he was done thinking the reasoning of the idea over. For the short time that I've known him, I've learned not to surprise him with any thing new. Thus far, that's number one written in the rulebook. "There's no point in starting over from here."

My gaze was brought back up to meet his once more. Like before, his arms were crossed and he looked annoyed as ever. However, there was something different about the look. I could not quite pinpoint what it was then and there, but I knew it was familiar. "Well then, since you seem to think that starting over is pointless, can't we just move on from here? Act like we don't have secrets to share?"

"You don't have to say it like that; I wasn't exactly calling all this… Pointless. Or- or whatever you said, I was clearly saying that we just… We cannot erase what happened." He stopped, looking over to see the waitress coming back with our drinks. Thanking her graciously, she skipped off to the other awaiting customers. Zexion held his cup of coffee with both of his pale hands, his thumbs slowly rubbing the sides. Unlike most of the people who lived here, he didn't wear any gloves, which surprised me. He was probably freezing right now.

From the pitiful sight in front of me, I sighed. My elbows rested on the table as I leaned closer. My action caused the other to look up suspiciously from his cup. His hair slightly flopping over into his eyes that was quickly brushed away from the suddenness of movement. I looked down before gazing up again with seriousness written across my face. "Well, it's not like it meant anything. That would be different."

My brain was responding with every possible siren and alarm that it could muster up. After the words escaped my lips, I bit down hard enough to break the thin layer of skin. I could not believe that I had just said something like that. Especially to someone like him. How idiotic can I be? He probably would scold me for speaking way, way out of term. I would not mind; I deserved it. A tiny voice in the back of my head was telling me to correct myself before he left in a huff. However, I just held my breath and waited for the other to respond.

"Different." More moments passed as the air around us seemed to decrease. How is it that only I could feel as the room emptied out, my lungs slowly giving in. Either from my nerves getting the best of me or how cold it had become edged me closer to that all wanting panic attack. It almost felt as if I would pass out at any moment, but I held my own. Or at least tried to. "Different as in we wouldn't be talking to each other right now or different that we could somehow be friends?"

I couldn't help myself, a low chuckle escaped me. I was relieved that he did not lash back at how cold my comment had been. "Different as in, 'I would have taken it far more serious that what just happened' …Then that's when you would stop taking to me…"

He just shrugged, not showing any real emotion on his face. The only good thing I saw was that his shoulders slummed downward to where human beings usually have them. When that happened, a chain reaction was put into play. All the build up tension lifted up, and then the oxygen filled the room once more. "Ah," he muttered understandingly, "That probably would have happened."

"Most likely." I sipped on my glass of water, looking out at the stormy weather. His eyes followed mine as we watched the small lake pelted down with droplets. The surfaced water shattering like fragile glass as bullets upon bullets of rain smashed into its own kind with a gradational force._ Pitter Patter Pit Pat._

From then on, we discussed numerous topics. Different subjects popped up and it felt as if we could have talked for hours. He showed that he was quite shy to begin with, but once you really have a conversation that he shows his true self. Under the thick layers of freezing ice, there was actually a living breathing human being. An interesting human being at that. Though we did not discuss anything about our past, I've learned so much about him.

He likes to play the piano whenever he can. He loves to make grilled cheese for breakfast. He likes caramel frozen coffee more than black coffee, but he can never find them anywhere so he makes his own at home. He's obsessed with old novels and cheese pizza. He hates the cold, but would rather live in darkness over light. He hates the color orange and likes any dark hues. He wants to go through life in the shadows, but wants to have people know his name with high regards. He hates people who see the world like it revolves around them and respects those who are fighting to live their life. Also, he would love to see the people who say the term 'lol' in daily conversations suffer, which made me laugh until I cried. He loves classics over the new releases. First copies over new. Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, Byron, Dickens. All this I learned from just one afternoon of talking with him.

Not only did I realize so much about him as he was telling me things, I watched is body language. I realized that his actions were graceful as we chatted. As he lifted his drink to take a sip, it would be in one solid motion. His jaw would never lock in place like mine sometimes did, and he sat with perfect posture. I felt mesmerized at how perfect he seemed. Then again, talking to him was like talking to a statue. When he would reply, I felt as I jumped out of my skin. It was surprising to hear his voice, even if it was in either monotone or sarcastic. It was as if I did not expect him to speak to someone as imperfect as me.

He reminded me of so much of ice. An ice statue perhaps. I watched as his emotions never shown on his exterior and how a simple frown was always plastered on his lips. It was not bothersome, but I grew the desire to see him smile. Truly smile and melt away the ice that held the frown in place. I wondered how he would look with a smile, imagining how perfect it would be also.

Then my eyes moved to his oddly colored hair. It was still held back by the blue bandana that seemed out of place from a neat and simply guy like this. A thought came through my mind then, making me crack a smile. At that, he rose a thin eyebrow in question. I would not tell him however and waved it off as nothing. I'll save that for a later time.

However, like all good things this meeting came to an end as it had gotten almost too dark to see outside. We gathered our coats as I paid for everything like I promised. Together, we walked out to stand underneath the cloth roofing over the doorway and realized that we could barely see one another in the darkness of night. Few streetlamps illuminated the other's strong features but nothing of real detail. The light was enough though.

"Zexion." His slim fingers had snaked around the collar of his jacket as he was going to put on his hood. Slowly his gaze rose to meet mine, the lighting showing that there was a foreign glint in his eyes. It looked innocent, reminding me that he was just a teenager like I was. How he acted made him seem like such an adult, but this made me chuckle on the inside.

A small voice answered with a semi-curious, "Demyx?"

I smiled at his voice and he crooked his head to the side at the action. As I told him my name for the first time today, he told that it was the rarest name he has ever heard. Then he said it- my name- and it blew my mind. It rolled off his tongue, pronouncing it with such a style that made me grin with glee. Breathing out, I turned my head towards the flooded streets of downtown. "Will you come back? Look past the things before… And be the director for the play? What do you say?"

He blinked a few times, placing a few strands of hair behind of his ear. The innocent glint was there, however now he seemed more serious as his brows furrowed. I was holding back the urge to wrap my arms around him and embrace him in a friendly hug. Another urge that I had to push aside. Whispering again, he answered, "I suppose I will. There's no reason to dwell on what happened in the past."

Walking home, I smiled to myself as I thought about what happened just moments ago. The two of us who did not understand one another could stand to be close? The numbers do not seem to add up quite right. Surprisingly enough, I was so satisfied with myself that I forgot to put my hood up on my jacket. Walking alone, cold, tried, but extremely, extremely happy.

A thought broke through the happiness as I began to remember one very important detail.

"Oh…" My feet stopped suddenly as I thought about what the reason was for coming here in the first place. My joyous smile sank gradually into a frown as the thought settled in my mind. Instinctively, I ran a hand through my hair then brushed the tips of my fingers where the necklace should be. How could I forget all about the necklace? Not knowing the answer to my own question, I sighed. "That's great; you really did it this time…"

There was no way to find him now since he was already gone in the darkness. It would seem that I had to set up another meeting like this again for another day. Thus, it would give me a chance to ask for the necklace and maybe give me the opportunity to know him better than before. On the other hand, since he agreed to help us out with the play, talk to him at school. If there was even time to talk to him during the preparations. I did not know.

I continued walking until I reached a bus stop. There was no way that I was going to walk all the way back to the apartments in the rain and dark. In addition, wondering around alone in this town at night just was not my thing. I really wanted to keep my life and did not want to be seen on the twelve o'clock news about being killed by a maniac who roams the streets of downtown.

The bus came and went; sitting there on the brightly lit bus put me in an awkward situation. It was just the bus driver, and me and I was doubting that the driver was even still breathing. Just me being there made it awkward. The bus was not a place that I visited often. Oh no. Usually when Axel wants to go downtown, we take it. It was not that awkward when I was with him since people rode the bus during the day. When its night, though, it's a different story. Now, it was just dark and a ghost ride.

Eventually, I was able to make it to the front door of my apartment. After the bus ride and the semi-long walk in the rain, of course. From being in the rain for the short amount of time, my hands were freezing cold even though they were covered in leather. I swear that I had dropped my keys around eight times already and was having a difficult time picking the keys back up. After moments of fumbling around, I unlocked the door and walked inside.

"Wow." A small perky voice said near the living room. I turned around slightly to face Rikku who was doing her homework on the couch. There was a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, which told me that she secretly was watching TV. I'm a nice cousin though, I would not tell Uncle Cid about it. "Did you crawl all the way back home or what?"

I laughed at her, my laugh sounding real for once. I was rubbing my hands together from the lack of warmth. Sure, I probably looked as if I was drug behind a bus all the way home. "As a matter of fact- I did. I fell into a manhole and took the underground highway here." She giggled and she waved me away. A small smile appeared as she turned back to her very important homework.

Soon, I found myself walking into my room. My legs could barely keep me stable as I had been walking around for almost an hour after the bus let me off. At least it was easier than walking the whole way on foot. Downtown was hard to walk in during the night. It did not help matters that I really would not mind to get lost for a while to get my mind off things. However, that's when I had perfect circulation in my legs. Without that, I was practically drowning in the city of tears.

Quickly, I striped away my wet clothes and put on some lounge garments. Once I was comfortable, I picked up my sitar and sat at the edge of my bed. Slowly, I titled my head up from looking at the strings towards the water pelted glass that separated me from the outside world. I could remember how I thought that windows could lead to a completely new world. Watching the clouds move through the glass could be remembered as watching fish swim through water. One of my daily activities with my mother.

It was strange, how I did not cry as much when I thought about her. There were times where I could not hold back the raging tear, but other times, I thought that it would be better to remember her with a smile. It made me feel slightly ashamed of myself that I'm not. It was as if I was supposed to tear up every single time someone spoke her name, maybe even when I had a flashback of her. There had been years of crying and now I think that it was time for something new. Something that was going to change things for the better. True, she was the greatest person in my life but I think that she should be remembered with blissful memories. She could listen to me laugh instead of weep for once. Something different.

There was a noise that could be heard over the drizzle of the rain that made me perk upwards. My eyes watched the window suspiciously while the noise continued. It was someone talking out on the fire escape. That's when I remember that Axel was meeting with the blond again today. Their voices could be heard from up above on the outside.

"Axel…" It was Roxas obviously, his voice trembling from the cold outside. Someone sounded like they were pacing which was probably the young blond also. Axel was never the one to leave his post on the side of the railing. "It's strange… I feel… I feel like we've know each other our whole lives…. I-I just… I just don't know how to say this. I mean…"

Moving closer to the window, I heard the red head chuckle at how childish he sounded. There was another set of footsteps now, these coming closer to the others. In a second, they both stopped and the other let out a small laugh again. "I know what you mean, Roxy. I feel the same way. I want to be with you for the rest of my life until death do us part."

I smirked listening to that. No, I wasn't known to eavesdrop on others during sentimental situations. It is just that my walls are paper-thin and the whole scene that was unraveling in front of me was too good to let go. Axel had never been so happy in his life and he deserved all the happiness he could get. Roxas was the one who could make that happen.

"But…" The blond began, his trembling settling down. The other must be holding him close to keep him warm from the rain. "… I won't be here for much longer, Axel. After graduation, I'll probably while a couple of months before deciding on where to move to next. I don't want to leave you but it's just something that has to be done. In five months we'll graduate and who knows what's going to happen. Who knows where we'll be. You understand, right?"

There was a long pause where no one spoke. There wasn't a rustle of clothing or even footsteps echoing off the metal. Finally, someone sighed. "I'm sorry, Roxas. I won't let you leave me so easily."

There was a hum as a reply before silence was greeted again. "I thought that you would hate me for going… Why don't you just give up on me, just live out life the rest of your life without me. Like before. You can… Well… I don't know… Just pretend that I never existed."

Axel chuckled. It made my smile grow as I knew exactly what was going through his mind. Gradually, I took some steps back from the window to sit down on my bed once again. Sitting down is when I heard something that made me snicker to myself. "Roxas, why would I? I love you."

I picked up my sitar that was leaning against my nightstand by my bed. Softly, I strummed the stings and thought about what to play. A thought came to mind as my fingers began playing the same melody that I had listened to the day that I met Zexion. That felt so long ago compared to now. It was all the way back when he used to be named the mysterious musician. My fingers strummed the lullaby, making sure to hit every note perfectly. It reminded me so much of him; quiet but expressive. Somewhat complicated, if you ask me.

Why was I fascinated with the sheer thought of him? We've only know one another for three days technically. That only makes him an acquaintance to me and nothing more. How is it that this character will not exit the theater of my mind? The explanation was not so easily sought out. I wanted to know the answers to my own questions, but they were lost halfway through the process. The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I could not quite figure it out.

Was it really the necklace that I wanted back or was it just the chance to see him again? I knew that I wanted the necklace back, but there was something that was telling me that it was not just that. Maybe I did want to see him again. Why do I will to see him again, to learn so much about him? Do I admire him? That is a strong possibility since he has such a unique persona about him. Do I want him as a friend? There are many people who are my friends, but I do not want him placed in that category. Do I like him more than just a friend?

The melody died suddenly, taken over by _Pitter Patter _pounding against the window. "Do I like him?" Quickly, I sat up straighter than before, laying my sitar on the bottom of my bed. My hands lingered, rubbing against the instrument. My teeth bit into my bottom lip as my thoughts raced. "Do I like him…?"

I always wondered what my mother would say after I told her that I was different. That I was not going to find interests in girls as much as guys. She would be the first I would tell since I could tell that she would take it better than others. How would she react to the facts though? Knowing her, she would smile her marvelous smile, put a piece of hair behind her ear, then say, "It's whatever you decide, Dem. No one can make that decision for you. It's your choice."

She was the one who always told me that. Living in that house did not require many choices, though. She would plan everything out for the day, either we went shopping out in the town or went for walks on the beach. Her ideas seemed rash, but I could tell that she planned everything out in her mind. She would plan unless he would get in the way. No, I couldn't say his name. He was nothing to me anymore. He would plan outings so the paparazzi could get the best pictures. Mainly, he wanted to plan out how the world viewed our family. Controlling the world was what he was after. I did not doubt the fact. Though, mother would plan things out more often than him. Until she was gone, then the world seemed to fall apart. I could not understand how I could make all these decisions by myself without anyone to consult them with. I did not believe that I could make it on my own.

Mother would be understanding, while others would not be so much. Being in the public eye would mean the whole nation would know my story. They would know when I sleep, when I breathe, everything about me. My- I mean- He would cast me out. Homophobic did not explain what he was. Oh no, he just hated them. The tabloids would read how the most famous man in the world abused his son. His gay son. Paparazzi would go practically insane with the pictures of a confused and distraught boy with bruises and braces over broken bones. I did not want to imagine it.

It would make everything worse than it already was with my family. Coming out to the world. If my mother hadn't died, there would be a situation like this. Though, I knew that my mother would be there for me. She would make everything seem better as the rest of the world sat under the water. Drowning.

Why did everything have to change so soon? Why did the most important person in my life die so suddenly? Why did everyone forget about her as if she meant nothing? Why was I cast aside in the cold for remembering her? Why was I abused for even bringing her up? Why?

For hours, I sat in my room surrounded by the darkness of the night. My thoughts drowned out the rhythm of the rain. My blankets were bundled up in my lap, keeping me semi-warm from the threatening cold seeping in from the outside. As I thought about all that had went wrong in my life, no tears fell from me. However, the tears of my mother drummed against the window.

End of Chapter Four

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Finally I posted this chapter. My family will be coming in next week. All of them will be at the house and there will be kids running around everywhere and everyone will be going crazy. Well, I know that I'll be going crazy. If you don't hear from me in two months or so, I probably died from reunion overload.

I hope you enjoyed chapter four!!!

Review if you wish, tell me what you think, suggestions, comments, come on people! Even if you want to say something totally random, say it. I don't really mind… If you've read some of my other reviews, you'll notice that I don't care about random.

YourConscience813


	5. Your Secrets I Will Keep

Author's Note: Well, here we are with yet another chapter of one of my favorite stories posted on here. Serious is not my genre, but I can really get into character when it's very dramatic. Or at least that is what I think. I like the persona that it brings. Plus, I've been getting over this illness- it's been taking months, I know- and hopefully will be over it by the start of the next year. Probably not because I work so slowly. Well, we never truly know, now do we? So, let's get to work.

Thank you to all who reviewed. Please, enjoy chapter five!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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Chapter Five: Your Secrets I Will Keep

Winter. One of the seasons that I despised the most out of the lonely four. When I was younger, I loved seeing the snow fall and marveled at how magical it seemed. I would wake up to see my world covered in a soft layer of white. My mother would take me and sometimes even Naminé out to go sled riding, to create snow angels, or to make snowmen. Now that I'm older, the snow that I once loved and enjoyed with high admiration was now a wet slush that was nothing but havoc. Rain mixed with snow was not something I loved. The roads were dangerous to drive on and many lives were lost during this time of the year. Depressing, if you ask me. It would get worse once you traveled deeper into the city. However, I barely had enough stamina to walk out of my apartment building without falling on my behind. Of course, I was not as slick as others would assume.

Another thing I hated about this season was that it was time for the winter play to be performed. That meant the new students to the drama department would be rushing around and acting as if the world was going to crash down on top of them. Too bad it wasn't. The winter play was not as important as the one in the spring. That was why we began to preparations for the later play earlier in the year. Newbies never seemed to realize that until they experience the play for themselves. Soon they will learn and will never scurry around the stage like mice again.

That was the scene that was unfolding below me. It was already the end of the school day and the extracurricular activities were beginning to take place. People were rushing back and forth underneath of me as they made the setting on the stage perfect. It was despicable. I wanted to throw something down on the set to make them freak out even more. That's what happened a few years back, some seniors destroyed all the props and we continued through the winter play like it was nothing. Sure, some people rose eyebrows as we walked onto the stage in casual clothes, but we made them believe that it was just part of the play. That is why we are part of the acting community, right? We are the perfect improvisers.

Axel was swinging his legs over the edge of the catwalk, one arm wrapped around the small blond. They decided to stay after, keeping me company so I would not go insane. Roxas has been joining us on the catwalk for a while now but still was not getting used to it. The first time he came up, he was clinging to the red head as if it was a matter of life and death. That was not the end of it though, he would tell us how insane we were to even stay up there. I was going to inform him that it was Axel's brilliant idea to even begin sitting up here and that was before I ever met him, but I pushed it aside. The blond was too busy freaking out from the thirty foot drop to the stage to even listen to what we were telling him. Now, he won't go near the edge like we would and held onto his boyfriend with a deathgrip to make sure if he fell, Axel would be going too.

At the edge, I was sitting down crossed legged and passing a bag of chips between the three of us. Then we would throw them down at the passerby's who were trying to set up the stage. Most of the time we would miss and they would carry on, however there were rare occurrences where it would get suck in their hair. We would snicker as they looked up and gave us a rather obscene gesture, which would make us laugh a little bit harder. There was someone who I've been trying to hit but have been failing miserably. He was sitting down in the audience, his head resting on one hand as he held a book in the other. There was a small pile of chips piling up in the few rows in front of him that others have failed to notice.

I heard someone scoff beside me. My eyes closed for a second as I hear it once again. Tilting my head to the side, I saw the red head munching on a few chips while rolling his eyes. Roxas was just smirking at the expressionless mask I had plastered on my face. I shook my head, throwing the rest of the chips that were in the palm of my hand at the two. "What?"

A grin grew on Axel's lips as he cleaned the few pieces that fell into the blond spikes of the other. I lowered my gaze as he was not answering the question and was most likely avoiding it. There was a low chuckle that escaped the other as he was staring over at me. "I still can't believe that you like that director character, Dem." My head snapped up, quickly regretting it as the muscles in my neck tightened from the suddenness of the movement. Slowly I massaged the pain away as the red head continued. "Weren't you the one who said that there was no way that you find that guy any bit attractive? That he wasn't your type? I really thought that was you who had said that, but who knows… Maybe I was mistaken."

Something was telling me in the back of my head that it would all come back to me in the end. Of course, Axel was always curious about the relationship that I had with the other. He was still in the dark about the fight I had with him and how we even met. In addition, I would rather die than tell the red head about losing the necklace that I still haven't been able to retrieve. All that he really knew about was that I had a strange attraction to the one below us. That was something that scared me to bits, how he can understand something without me even telling him about. Roxas soon understood what was going on and would also torment me with those devious little hints. I was hoping that I was not as easy to read as I thought. "No." I brushed off some crumbs off the front of my shirt, trying to ignore the two's knowing observation. "I remember that day perfectly, Axel. I still stick to what I said also."

"Oh, come on." The blond adjusted himself so he was leaning back against his boyfriend comfortably. "Every time we're up here, you're practically drooling all over him." The two were laughing, but I wasn't. I was too busy trying to keep my poker face up. I was an actor after all. "Face it. You are in love with this guy."

Roxas, I do not think I've told you this, is underwater when he feels fit. Not underwater like my sister or even like _him_, but still underwater. Sometimes he would take a dive and would ignore the little things in life when he felt like it, while other times he would be on the surface, observing anything that was in his line of sight. You could never tell when he was going to take a dive or resurface. I've learned that the blond was quite unpredictable to a certain degree.

"Am not!" What was my age again? I think in a matter of seconds I've gone from eighteen to a four year old. My confidence sank down lower as their laughter continued to grow. I was blushing red hot as I stumbled over words to explain myself.

"Hey Rox." The other hummed in acknowledgement. My eyes wandered to one face, to another in suspicion. Gradually, the red head took a few chips out from the bag and held them in the palm of his hand. "I bet that I can hit him all the way from here. Five points for hitting his hair, ten for hitting his nose, and twenty for getting it in his mouth when he yawns."

"Wha- Wait… No!" I leaped forward to grab the bag of chips away from them who were snickering at how crazed I must seem. I hid the bag to the other side of me so the others could not reach it and ran my fingers through my hair. My face was burning now and I hated the feeling. Shaking my head, I spun around so I didn't have to watch the two as they began their little game. Timidly, I spoke up, "You won't be able to get the twenty points. When he yawns, he holds his hand over his mouth. It would take a miracle for you to do it."

"Ah-ha!" Roxas and Axel were crawling over to me, their eyes widened as they both bore a knowing smile. It was getting annoying how they practically could get any information they wanted out of me. This was just another one of their brilliant plans on getting me to crack. Sadly, I cracked quicker than I have before. Those two were really perfect for one another, I tell you. Axel was jabbing me with his index finger, causing me to flinch and push away. His boyfriend was just sitting and smirking. The red head was the one to speak first with pleasant fascination notable in his tone. "You've just contradicted you're original statement!" I sighed, now understanding that Axel was going to begin his phase were all he spoke was in courtroom jargon. "You've noticed the littlest thing about him. That mean's you're guilty! You like him!"

Before I could even get a word out, the blond had to jump right in with his usual precise advice. "Maybe you should go and ask him out?" My jaw dropped, but he continued, completely unfazed by my expression. "Besides, he only talks to you outside of school. He won't even give another person a second glance. I bet that he would say yes if you asked him."

"He would probably say yes and whisk Demyx off so they can be all kissy, kissy alone together." I couldn't help it this time. My fist curled up into a ball and I punched Axel in the gut. Lightly, but nowhere near playfully. This was seriously getting on my nerves. However, the red head just took the hit in stride, pulling his boyfriend back to their resting position so they could make fun of me from a safe distance. "Dem could actually do that now, considering the fact _he_'s been staring up at us for the past three minutes."

I paused, slightly afraid to look down at the seats. If I did and he wasn't looking, then the others would find out that I actually care about him. If he was looking, then I wouldn't know what to do. After a few seconds of fighting with my inner self, I gave in and looked down.

He was staring up at me as the two had said. The book in his hand had been turned over on his lap as his head was tilted up to curiously stare in my direction. I smiled down before carefully moving past the snickering others to climb down the catwalk. Making a mental note to castrate the two later on, I reached the wooden floor of the backstage. It looked different from before. All the cobwebs were gone and life has spread throughout the whole confined area. The new director really had helped the drama department get back on track.

Moving past some fellow students, I made my way into the auditorium again. Axel and Roxas could be heard talking from up above as I moved across the stage, off to towards the seats, and finally stopping a few seats in front of the quiet one. "Hey Zex. What are you up to?"

He quirked an eyebrow, already had gone back to reading his book like before. Not moving an inch, he silently told me that something was out of place. Blinking, I looked down to see a small pile of chips from where we had been throwing them at him. I blushed, thinking that Axel probably hit him one of those times. Gazing up at him again, I watched as the cold expression changed, not to one of hate but one of exhaustion.

"Sorry about that, I'll get it cleaned up in no time." He nodded once to my enthusiasm. At least that was it. I had been surprised that he was not frustrated by my antics- or Axel's since he was the one who actually started it. As I went to get a broom, I could hear the two snickering and making the 'whoopsh' noise. I frowned.

This was going to be a _long_ afternoon.

By the end of the rehearsal- or whatever this disaster was named-, I had cleaned up the whole mess with the chips, been teased by some drama students how the director would not talk to me, and I had stormed out of the auditorium from the constant sniggering, currently standing outside in the slush. _Pitter Patter Split Splat_. I didn't even think about putting my hood up, I just let the frozen rain fall and did what it pleased. I did not care if I got pneumonia from the cold. Just did not care. Yeah, I wasn't so happy with the two right now. We're still friends for life, but I was getting irritated by their useless meddling. It happened, but rarely.

Sighing, I rubbed my nose briefly before staring out in the endless space. I knew that Axel was just teasing, and so was Roxas, but I needed some time to gather my thoughts. A lot of time. Too much time, come to think of it. I really had no idea what Zexion meant to me. We've had our ups and downs, and for the past month it's mainly consisted of ups. It's been fun hanging out with him even though it creates havoc with his little fan club and what not. It's scary to see how many stalkers the guy actually has running around. However, I still had no clue how I felt about him. Right now he's just a friend. A friend that I could not keep my mind off of for a millisecond. Sure, I'm positive that he could still be placed into the 'friend' category.

As Axel had said before, I noticed the small things about him. Everything he did reflected his personality perfectly. His shoulders would never slump, his hands never stretched out completely, and he would balance his weight evenly between his two feet unlike me who has to lean more on my right. It was because I was used to balancing my sitar. In these months, he would never wear any form of gloves nor would he shove his hands into his pockets. If he was cold, he would lightly blow on them or rubs them together gently. He would never complain, either, which disappointed me. I liked it as someone complained. I always wanted to do something to make them feel better. I digress, these are just some of the things I notice about him.

It was awhile until people started to shuffle out of the front doors, walking quickly to their destinations. The clamoring noises averted my attention now towards the academy. I had almost forgotten, probably from standing out in the freezing cold for so long. My arms folded over my chest, my eyes watching as a few students fell in the slick liquid. If I hadn't been so angry with the two then I would be laughing right about now. Especially since a few of the people were the freshmen in my class. I didn't laugh, but I couldn't help but crack a grin.

Hard to believe, but I don't find people in pain humorous. Who knew?

I heard someone walking behind me and I half expected to turn around and be greeted with electrifying green eyes. It did not happen. Power blue could be seen and all the anger soon disappeared completely.

"You… Walked off suddenly," he stated, his neck caned to look up towards me. Very observant, I wouldn't have thought that he would notice me. His bag was already slung over his shoulder and his hood was up, unlike mine, telling me that he was ready to leave for the day. Unusual, considering he waits until everyone leaves before he walks out. I guess he had somewhere important to go.

"Yeah… Sorry about that." My fingers came up to brush against my bare neck, lightly moving up to ruffle my hair a bit, my hair officially flattened by the wetness. It made me self-conscious. I always liked to have my hair up in my own unique style. I liked how it separated me from all the rest. Now, I probably only looked like someone who couldn't operate his hood. "I really didn't mean to walk off like that but… Something was on my mind."

"You're angry about something."

Again, I must point out that he was very observant. The only thing that surprised me about this was that he seemed halfway interested in this conversation. It was not as if he was disinterested in the rest of our conversations, but he had a different look to him. It was as if a layer of ice had washed away and I could see another emotion. Too bad it was unknown to me. His head was crooked to the side a few degrees to show a clear point of curiosity as I opened my mouth. "No. I'm not angry about anything. Frustrated maybe, but I'm certainly not angry."

It was a lie and he obviously knew it. "You don't seem the type to keep you're anger pent-up."

I seriously felt the need to laugh at him. There wasn't anything wrong, but his actions were so hilarious. His voice was only a mere whisper that you could barely hear over the weather and he seemed to shrink down after his comment. Instead of laughing at him, I beamed down. There was a nervous tingle that began to grow in my stomach again. "Is that your way of asking me what's wrong?"

His brows furrowed, as expected from my 'childish' doings. That's what he called them one day. Still makes me laugh when thinking about it. "Do you always have to ask so many idiotic questions?" Shaking his head, he rubbed the right temple slowly with his eyes tightly sealed. In concentration, his lips pursed. One eye opened after a moment and was scanning me over thoroughly before simply answering my original question. "Possibly."

Unlike the usual routine of following Zexion to his apartment- which I now know where it is and how to contact him-, we spilt up so I could go home. I told him that I did not feel very well and that I would talk to him tomorrow if I felt any better. This was why I had gotten brilliant reviews for my acting. Of course there was some truth to my tale, but that was because the butterflies that were fluttering around in the pit of my stomach were getting worse. Nodding along to my faked story, he agreed and we went our separate ways for the night.

I was glad that the apartment was not too far away, I doubted that I could have made it even that far without busting my head open. For the second time in my life, of course. No, that was something that I would rather avoid at all costs. With all the crying and carrying on inside my mind, I had successfully made it inside the building and up to my room.

No one was home this afternoon; Rikku must have gone out with the guy that she's been seeing for a while. It was nice to see her out and about, hanging with more people than just the usual group. My cousin was a very outgoing person, there was no doubt about that, but it was pretty hard to find trustworthy people in this town who she could get along with. Sometimes personalities just clash.

As for Uncle Cid, he was at his work most likely. Seriously, I could bet the moon on it.

My room had an eerie silence to it, making me double take when opening the door. Raising an eyebrow, I turned towards the frozen looking window, only to find nothing on the other side. I sighed, shrugging off the feeling since it was probably just a shadow. Slowly, I made my way over to the window. Even though I could not open it now that it was frozen shut, it had a great affect when staring out into the sky through the glass and ice both. The feeling was not like I was swimming underwater anymore, more like gliding across it just before surfacing. The world was just fingertips away. Out of reach.

The world had never really closed up around me. Swallowing me whole, sending me deeper under the surface. Sometimes I could not breath. The light begins to fade and you are trapped in the endless sea, only to sink deeper and deeper without any hope. No, I was hoping that I would not feel that way. I've already witnessed many people being taken by the water, I did not want to join them.

My fingers brushed against the glass, making a light squeak at the strange friction. It was cold and I sighed. Shifting my body, I leaned my forehead up against the glass, feeling the temperature from the outdoors through a median. The vibrations of _Pitter Patter, pit pat _could be felt hitting against the other side. I laughed to myself as I could feel the butterflies in my stomach begin to die down once again. My light headedness was decreasing, slowly causing everything to shift back into it's rightful place. After a while, I was beginning to feel like myself again.

I did not understand why I felt this way about him, I just did. Even when I first met him. Now the feeling was beginning to grow and each time I saw him made it even worse. Some of the time, I just wished that Axel would blurt it out to the world so it would be out in the open. The feeling of hiding something would not rest within me anymore and I would feel relieved. I wanted to tell him. What exactly would I tell him, though? There wasn't a specific emotion that stood out from the rest, they were all jumbled together. It was not one of nostalgia either, it was something new. Something that I've never experienced before. If there was something that I felt for him, I had to take some time to figure it out.

The feeling… Just felt… Right.

Some hours past and all that I had accomplished was playing around ten songs on my sitar and counting the number of black dots on my nightstand. Thirty-eight dots. I had no clue what they were from, but at least I knew how many of them were there. Probably from where Axel was burning something in my room one day. Still, I digress. It was getting to the point where I would even consider going out tonight. Now that was some strange thoughts. However, after taking a couple of minutes on deciding, I gathered my things once more to leave the apartment.

Outside was horrible and I mentally kicked myself for not looking out the window before leaving. It was a stupid thing to do. I was able to recognize that now. My hood was pulled over my face at the freezing cold droplets fell over the city. _Pitter Patter Pit Pat. _I fell as I tried to cross the street, making my way south towards downtown. My knees splashed in the water, soaking the bottom half of my jeans in an instant. Getting up carefully, I managed to walk all the way into the downtown area until falling for a second time.

Steadying myself, I- slowly- made the rest of my way over to an apartment complex that was a few blocks away. It wasn't like the one I lived in. There was a buzzer at the front door of the building and I had to wait in the rain until he answered the call. Thankfully, I knew which door I had to ring up due to my odd -not at all like a stalker- observations.

A familiar voice came over the speaker suddenly, causing me to jump. "Who is it?"

He sounded sort of tired, it was an odd sound. Of course, he had to be tired though. It was late at night and everyone would be in a deep sleep by now. Not me, oh no. I had to be different today, didn't I? Then I thought about it some more. Maybe it was static from the speaker and he was more annoyed than tired. I could not tell without looking at him. Simply, I said, "Look out your window."

I backed a few steps near the end of the sidewalk to look up at the face of the building, watching one specific window. He was probably staring at me through the glass as if I was some kind of lunatic. Hopefully he could see me. Silently, I waited for any sign. When there was none, I frowned.

Letting out the breath I was holding in, I closed my eyes and looked down at my shoes. My clothes were soaked. There was no hiding that. Wouldn't you think that living under a endless rain cloud would help our immune system? Maybe it could strengthen it? Just a tiny bit? No, sadly for me, that was a no. When I got home, I would probably be sick once again and Rikku would complain about me moping about the apartment.

"What are _you_ doing?"

My head snapped up, looking at the one who had just opened his window. Even through the rain, I could tell that he was probably frowning. It was his tone of voice most likely. Somehow, it made me smile. It had made my day so much better that I was walking on the invisible sunshine in my path. The thought of him even noticing me made me quite happy as some could tell. I know that it was strange, but that's how I felt and that was that. There was nothing you could do that would change it.

"You could say…" I began, spreading my arms out from my sides boldly, "… That I'm just being unexpected."

That's when a cold rush feel upon me. My shoulders arched upwards and I felt my hair flop in front of my eyes. It was too cold to move, there was no way to get around it. A car had flown past at high speeds, splashing gushes of freezing water over me at once. Again, something unexpected.

I could not figure out what amount of time had past before the front doors of his apartment opened. Somehow, I found myself freezing in time as well as out in the cold. It was slow and my heart was thudding in my throat. As I felt warmth grace my shoulders, I glanced up to see the pale ivory skin, crystal ice eyes, and soft pink lips that I have traveled to visit.

"Come inside."

It was all too quick. He lead me inside, his jacket pulled tightly over my shoulders. Something that had quickly caught my attention was his hair as he carefully closed and locked the front door. It was messy, the front bangs were covering one of his eyes and the hair now stuck to his face. I have never seen it quite that way before, making me wonder. Of course, he probably had it down as he was sleeping- noting he was wearing pajamas. However, it was strange to see him without a blue bandana pulling back his flimsy hair. As he turned from the door, an eyebrow rose at my gaze. I was standing in the middle of the hall, exactly halfway between the front door and stairwell. From the look I was giving him, he proceeded closer, just enough so I could reach him. Before he could ask, I extended my arm, my icy fingers brushing his hair out of his one eye.

At the touch, I could feel as his body flinched away from me. It was natural, I somewhat expected it to happen. Still, he stayed frozen in place as I swept his hair out of the way. His skin was warm to the touch as my fingers briskly ran across his cheek. As his hair was out of his one eye, I smiled and looked at the finished product. I could almost chuckle at how childish I must seem.

He did not seem to care much about it, brushing it off as if it had not just happened. My head tilted in the direction that he was walking as he passed me by. It did not take long for me to follow close behind him, following like some lost puppy after a storm. The place looked as if it did not have an elevator and if it had than I had missed it. We took the stairs, however, my eyes watching the back of my friend who was leading the way. The fabric of his nightshirt ceased and it showed off some skin of his lower back, just an inch or so was visible. Quickly, I smiled to myself before following him up to his apartment in silence.

It was small, a little smaller than the apartment that I shared with my uncle and cousin. However, it was not overly crowded, neat and tidy like I had expected it to be. He would probably go insane if he were to live somewhere that was not organized to his liking. It was simple, as if no one had inhabited the apartment in a long time. As I was looking form corner to corner, I saw him look a little discouraged at the expression on my face, but turned and walked over to the window before I could say anything. Sighing, I paced myself over to the window behind him. It was raining harder, the city escaping into a deep shade of blue and gray. Tilting my head down, I whispered softly in his ear, "I think it's perfect, Zexion. You don't know how lucky you are."

Time passed, and he remained as silent as ever. We just stood at the window, my elbow propping me up so I would not lose my balance as I ghosted up against his back. I knew that he was nervous, so was I. The butterflies would not let up for the slightest second.

There was a question playing in my mind. "Where's your parents?"

"Gone."

"Gone?"

I backed up a bit as he turned around to face me finally. I was frowning as he blinked a few times. Some water dripped off of my hair, falling on his pale cheek, slowly rolling down as if it were a tear. "It is none of your concern. They are at other places doing different things. Happily. It is not like I worry about that. I do enjoy my evenings at home alone, if you are wondering." I watched closely as he moved swiftly past me. It felt as if I had just been beaten to death with a brick. If it was by him, then I would not be surprised. "I will get you a towel."

There was something that made me want to follow him, but my legs stayed put. They were probably listening in on the smarter part of my mind, which I was thankful for. As he turned the corner to go into a small hallway, I looked to an open door leading into a lighted room. It must have been where he had been sleeping before I had interrupted his evening. Worriedly, I peered at the corner again, expecting him to come back as I was making my way toward his room. Nevertheless, that did not stop me from moving near the open door.

His room was filled with photos. Frames were crammed together on shelves, others were scattered on the desk. It looked as if someone was scrap booking. However, I saw no family when coming in. Was he creating this himself? It was apparent that he was the child in all the photographs. Something was different in each one I had passed. In the first few, he was just a child, maybe even a toddler. His bright blue eyes stared at the camera and his lips were curled into a smile. Moving down, he started to look paler and at one, a picture that was lying face up on the desk, it showed him lying in a bed at the hospital. "Zexion?"

"Ever since I was born… I've been sick. It's rather cliché, now that I think about it aloud." He was holding onto a dry towel, cradling it in his arms gently. The look on his face was disappointment. Something told me that he did not want me to find out about this. Thinking it over, I really did not know what was wrong in the first place. So many things were confusing, and other parts were cut out of this tale. I did not want him to tell me if he did not want to, that was one thing I knew for sure.

His head was tilted down at the floor. Those icy eyes buried behind layers of hair and thick eyelashes. It was unnerving to witness, I felt the need to comfort him. He was always so cold. Frozen. Something in his past built his personality with ice blocks. They came together to put on his harsh exterior, but maybe that was all he needed. Maybe that was his security blanket. If hiding from others made him feel safe, I would want him to be happy. To be safe. Right? "Zexion?"

"I do not need your pity." The frown spread across his lips gracefully. His words were tough, sharp, and stoic making me flinch at each syllable. Uncaring in a way. "I stopped treatment years ago. I am finished. I do not want to be known as the boy who could not live out his life because he had leukemia."

My arms wrapped around him, his head resting against my chest. I was smiling down at him and I had no idea why. We stood there for a while, my arms holding him close, his being right at his sides. It seemed almost perfect. Blissful could describe it. He backed away eventually, the front of his shirt soaked, the fabric clinging to his chest perfectly. "I do not pity you. I do not label you as anything that you're not." At that, he tried turning his head but I would have none of those games. My fingers gripped his chin, bring his face back around to face mine. Our eyes locked and I could feel his breath against my lips. They were so close to mine. "I care about you."

End of Chapter Five

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Someone just send me some reviews to kick me back into shape. Seriously. This is getting ridiculous. I haven't updated this story in such a long time. Plus, it is one of my favorite stories so, what the freak? I've been addicted to all these different websites once we got better internet and now look at where we are. Just wow.

I hope you enjoyed chapter five!

Review if you wish, tell me what you think, suggestions, comments, come on people! Even if you want to say something totally random, say it. I don't really mind… If you've read some of my other reviews, you'll notice that I don't care about random. **Kick me back into shape, people! Please!**

YourConscience813


	6. Will You Be There Holding My Hand

Author's Note: It's been _so_ long… I apologize for the wait… Well, here we are with yet another chapter of one of my favorite stories posted on here. Serious is not my genre, but I can really get into character when it's very dramatic. Plus, I've been getting over this illness- it's been taking months, I know- and hopefully will be over it by the start of the next year. I also- when I began writing this chapter- just came back from a special art academy. Oh well. So, let's get to work, shall we?

Thank you to all who reviewed. I appreciate it! Please, enjoy chapter six!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.

Chapter Six: Will You Be There Holding My Hand

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It was so close to spring. The fluffy white wonderland outside had melted completely away, progressing the flooding of this diluted city. Spring would not help much though, only causing the temperature to rise and the amount of precipitation to increase. Plus the fact the ever growing moisture in the air would cause moss to spread from one corner of the city to the next like a disease. That made me question why I always looked forward to the season. Possibly because it was progressing closer to my mother's favorite season? Was this anticipation that I felt? We only had one more month until it was the world renowned rain season on the calendar. That was all that we needed. More rain. More of this town's liquid poison to enjoy.

_Pitter Patter Pit Pat _could be heard as I came out of my unconscious state on the bed. Anymore, it did not bother me when I heard the constant tapping on the glass. Growing used to the constant reminder was hard; I do not know how it happened. There were no more nightmares about being underwater, no more sudden urges to hold my ears as if the droplets were deafening. Those reminders that cause me to hurt had suddenly vanished as if they never existed to begin with. There was something wrong with my head; the water will be drowning me in a second and I was not prepared for the cold fingers of death to pull me down. It was like I did not care what happened to me anymore. Somehow, I had something else that plagued my mind.

It was becoming the daily routine. Wake up, get ready, go to school, be dramatic, go to lunch, be dramatic once again, wait for Zexion, leave with Zexion, walk through the rainy city with Zexion, and then hang out at Zexion's home. I was surprised that he even let me in, but after the one night, yes it was official called the _one night_, I was pretty sure that he had no more secrets to keep from my listening ears. Following that night as we were walking to his apartment after school hours, he kept giving me this peculiar glance. He was not like this during class since he kept to his usual routine of ignoring me until he had an excuse to be in conversation. As we walked those icy eyes just stared at me, up and down. Scanning for something that was unknown to my mind at the time. As he was opening the front door, I noticed that he did not say his usual farewell as we spilt paths. Instead, I saw him inside the entrance, holding the door open for me.

Zexion never wanted to talk about his said secret, however. Each question I asked received a nonchalant reply. It was like he was too sick of the disease to be reminded that he had lived with it throughout his whole childhood. It practically ruined him, causing the ice to fuse to his skin. Even though he would not tell me any details on things, I found out answers on my own. All it took was a stroll around his room. By staring and observing the photos that were scattered throughout the living quarters I obtained new answers and information. Where he lived as a child, what hospital he was at, where his family is at now, and even his family's appearance. It was all coming together now.

He was sitting by the window in the living room as I sat on the end of his couch facing him with my legs crossed and an arm to hold my head up. A book was held in his hands, it rose up to meet his face. With him, it was an obsessive need to have perfect posture all the time. When I watched him, I always thought that I was observing for flaws in the manufacturing. Every single time that I scanned that lone figure, I watched the way he walked, if he positioned himself to one side more, if he dragged his feet while walking, if he did any of the things that a normal male teenager would do out of habit. However, each time that I observed him so, I found myself feeling embarrassed beyond belief. Zexion had no flaws. I practically cursed to myself when I thought back on all those incidents where I would just stare out of pure want for him to mess up. So that I can finally have proof that he is human. I especially was beating myself after learning about his past. Each and every piece that I had put together from his complex puzzle created a new bruise in my chest where my heart was being used as a mental punching bag.

Even though it was now apparent that Zexion was not as godly and immortal as I had always thought him to be, he was still perfect in my eye. I could imagine the look on his face if I ever tell him that. Just thinking about it made me want to break out into some random giggling fit. Now was neither the time nor the place to be doing that since it would most likely annoy him to death. I just could not get the picture of those blue eyes staring up into mine as I speak those words that he needs to hear. Those butterflies that reside in my stomach are creating havoc, giving me an unsure feeling as I shuffle through my thoughts. I want to tell him. I need to tell him. He needs to hear these words and I want to be the one brave soul to tell him without fear of being turned into ice. All I need is some kind of sign.

"I find it truly amazing that after all this time you have not even made a motion towards blinking." His sarcastic tone bought me back into the reality of where he lived and where I was a coward. This was not as easy as it were in my dreams. I noticed that his voice almost seemed bored as his eyes locked onto mine from across the room. Book being placed aside, he got up from his usual resting position to gradually make his way towards the couch. It was something that I had not expected him to do. As he sat down, his fingers lightly touched upon the bandana to make sure it was in its place. "Something seems to be troubling you…"

Another statement from him. Of course he would know it to be truth. It was in his personality to not question the actions of others but to use the simple tools called observation and calculation. He said that it saved him a lot of trouble in the long run. For the past half and hour we have been sitting in silence as he read. Probably what had thrown him off was that I was not disrupting him when he wanted to be in peace. That thought almost made me laugh. He wanted peace and when I finally gave it to him he thinks that there is something abnormal with my head! I wanted to laugh badly, but I did not want him to suspect that I was mad. "Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking about things."

I loved the way he would look so innocent. His eyes would look so wide, a pale face staring up at me with soft pink lips contrasting against the skin. His face would never turn up, only his eyes. It gave him so much definition that it made the butterflies twist and twirl, the tides clashing against the sandy shore. It was as if every natural beauty in the world was competing against this one human being. Two strands of hair had fallen out and grazed his right check sweetly. Surprisingly, he did not make a move to fix it. Could I? No, no I should not. Before I knew it, my fingers had clenched together to make a fist as my mind sent messages to my body to retreat from all actions. I had to act reasonable. Act like he was like every other person in the world, he was just another human being. Right? Could I listen to the brain and make this choice?

"How long have we known one another?"

I suppose that he was quite taken aback by the simple question. Curiously, I watched as he blinked a couple of times, probably processing the question in his mind. At least I had given him something to think about as well. Was it necessary? Not really, I just did not want him to worry that much about me. He already had a lot of things that needed to be done.

Mr. Stan was still in the hospital and the Spring production was coming up quickly. I do not even want to remember about what happened with the Winter Production. It was that bad. Hard to believe considering Zexion did such a great job with turning things into perfection with the set and crew. Still yet, now that the lesson is learned, we are working hard on the new performance. Instead of him working on the planning on his own, I stayed after school to help map out the outline. Making quick notes on sheets of paper that spread all over the stage, different colored sticky notes marked the positions of the props, and a few marked our backs. I smiled as I saw him annoyingly crumple the orange paper in his hand before writing the world 'childish' and sticking it lightly to my forehead.

However, it was tough battle, or so I thought. Finally there would be a moment where I assumed that I had managed to rupture the icy exterior, where he was able to crack a disregarded smile and enjoy the time that we spent together. Then, all too suddenly, it would turn back to become professional. The words he would use our friendship or whatever it was we shared and it was almost… Insulting. I hated it when he would snap back with a vicious recoil and would leave me wondering to myself. Wondering if I had made any progress at all. No, I did not think that it was a waste of my time but it was mind-boggling. The overwhelming feeling grew each time I fell from the euphoric buzz I experienced down to the pathetic slums of regression where I would place a cheesy grin on my face, joked and teased him a little for laughs, and began the road of recovery once more.

"Well…" Briskly, he brought a finger to his temple only to lower it a second later. "I think it has been around seven months possibly."

"Really?" A whistle escaped as I thought about the time, turning away from him to sit back in the seat. "Wow… It really has been that long, hasn't it?" I heard a brief noise of affirmation that made me speak up again with a smile across my face. I must look like such an idiot to him. "It makes you think, doesn't it? I mean…" I paused for a brief second to sort out the thoughts in my bustling mind, catching a glance of his thin eyebrow rising creating a chain reaction that made the right side of his face quirk upwards, the two strands becoming even more distinct than before. I would not doubt my fingers were now ghostly white and the knuckles a deep contrasted color of red from pressure of keeping my hand in a tight fist. "Doesn't this seem… Weird… Not in a bad way of course, but it's the fact that this whole 'relationship' that we've formed commenced after violence and hate?"

I was about to continue on with my unplanned and spontaneous speech when he interjected with haste. There was no emotion visible on the iron mask he had created for himself. He was frozen, back to the normal ice structure that bore no feelings or human qualities besides physical appearance, which I even believe is more than just human. "I would not dilly-dally upon thoughts such as these since it's positively useless. However, I do understand what perspective you are seeing this from. Even now I look back on the past and wonder how this has come to what it is today. Yes, it was an… unhealthy start to this…" His lower lip quivered and a small, nervous _um_ escaped him with a breath of air. Something cracked in his foundation and I could see the ice melting once again. A soft smile spread to my lips as he slowly let his eyes close and let out a suppressed sigh. "Nevertheless, I would not be too discouraged by the past. What happened, happened. There is no way that we can turn back the clocks to when we first met. Nor should we try."

I felt my smile become broader and broader at each word that passed through his sweet, soft rose petal lips. His eyelashes battered against the silky, ivory flesh unconsciously as he spoke, slightly directing my attention to the red tint that had formed across his cheekbones as he spoke of our '_relationship_.' My smile grew to its fullest when he was unable to think of a word to describe our '_relationship_.' Though it was not much of a '_relationship_' but more of a strange mutual friendship brought together by someone unknown godly forces that is far from explainable. However, the term '_relationship_' had a nice ring to it and since it was able to melt the ice I felt the need to continue using the word.

As his gaze locked with mine, he obviously noticed my joyous mood that was created from his speech. Both of his eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment and annoyance. I watched in sheer fascination as his lower lip continued to quiver nervously. His eyes sent a deathly glare my way but it did not falter my cheerful expression. "Yes, Mr. Jovial Disposition?" He practically hissed the remark through his teeth, not liking being put into a situation like this again. Apparently Zexion did not like it when he was exposed. "Is there something on your mind that you would care to share?" I continued to beam down rays of sunshine upon the gloomy rain cloud he had made for himself, only annoying him further. "What seems to be troubling you?"

"Nothin' at all." Lightly I brushed my fingers against the skin on his right cheek before I had time to think of my actions. The tips of my fingers trailed from the corner of his lips all the way to the top of his cheekbone. My head leaned lovingly to the side, the butterflies making my smile calmer from the nervous anticipation. A small breath escaped my lips as I felt the contrast in temperatures and soft his skin was compared to the rough texture of my fingers. I delicately twirled the two strand of hair between my index and middle fingers before tucking it neatly behind his ear. I felt his breath catch as I slowly leaned forward, my hand tenderly resting on the side of his face.

The moment felt as if it could last forever. We were practically breathing the same air once more, a sweet and hot smell filled my nostrils from his breath. A shiver of eagerness swept through my body as my thumb caressed the side of his cheek involuntarily. He remained perfectly still, never moving away or closer to my touch. The only movement came from his shallow breathing and constant rise and fall of his chest. I barely noticed him blinking, for that matter.

Quickly I regained my conscience, the force rapidly fading the smile into a displeased frown. My hand reminded still, the thumb had stopped circling against his cheek. "I'm sorry." The sudden stillness created a foreign expression to grace his features and I only let out a staggered sigh before closing my eyes is a pathetic defeat. In a low weary tone, I breathed, "It's getting late. I should be on my way."

"W- W…" My hand dropped to my side as I began to stand, leaving him to a perplexed state alone on the couch. All that came out of his mouth consisted of gibberish and nonsense as I moved away from him, his speech impediment making it even more difficult to leave him. There was curiosity building up, wanting to know what he desired to tell me. The flutter in my stomach was pulling down the heavy stone in my heart, causing a sickening feeling to arise in my throat. It was when I was at the door, pulling my arms through the sleeves of my jacket was when I heard the half-choked plea. "…Wait… Demyx…"

It took me awhile to fully understand where the voice came from; it seemed too unreal that he would say such a thing. In such a fashion, nonetheless. He sounded weak, completely vulnerable. I felt another drop in my chest as I reminded myself silently that it was my fault. I should not have preceded my tactics in that manner. It was completely wrong of me to do but yet, my body did not care in the least. My mind was put on hold as I acted erratically. I should have more resistance than that. This was my fault.

Boldly, he said my name again as if I had not heard him the first time around. I was pulled from my train of thought swiftly and I felt as if I should not ignore his words a second time. With the sinking feeling in my chest growing deep and deeper, I turned to face Zexion who was still sitting in the exact position where I had left him. "I'm sorry. I really should be leaving soon, you know?"

He did not try replying to my comment but only closed his eyes with an indignant expression masking his usual calm features. He jumped to his feet and made a B-line towards the kitchen with haste. It was a confusing motion but it intrigued me extremely, especially when the sound of pots and pans clamoring together echoed off the walls. I stood perfectly still, wondering if I should hurry and chase after him or wait for his return. After around thirty second of him not returning, I decided to make my way into the kitchen where he was scurrying from corner to corner; potholders in hand firmly grasped the handles of each metal cooking utensil.

There was a small table near the entrance where I gradually seated myself down, watching as the busybody worked in the kitchen. It was odd. The only people I've seen cook was Rikku, Uncle Cid and Axel on occasions, Reno, Naminé, and Mother. They all had their techniques, most of them acting utterly clueless in the kitchen and not knowing a spatula from a whisk. Then there was my mother who was able to make magic in the kitchen. I enjoyed coming down to watch her cook. The fresh smell of a fully cooked meal always made my mouth water, wondering what delicious meal she whipped up this time. The menu was surprising. Sometimes the norm, other times exotic. I loved how the food was never overcooked, constantly prepared to perfection. I loved how she would cook us our favorite foods when we were in bed sick. I loved how she understood what we wanted without asking us first.

"I will confess that I'm far from any experienced chief, meaning that most of the food I'm able to cook comes from store-bought packages," he started, setting a pan on the stove. As he paced back and forth, readying his supplies for whatever meal he was determined to create, he never glanced over to where I was sitting patiently. There was not a small little peak nor a hard-long stare. Most of the time it seemed as if he purposely kept his back towards me. "I'm still… Trying to learn. I have been for the past three months or so. Cooking shows do nothing for me. They are far from helpful, more irritating than anything. I don't understand how someone could stand in front of a camera for an hour and make corny jokes about vegetables constantly. Outrageous."

"As much as I'd love to stay here and watch you trot back and forth to prepare a… Fantastic meal, I wasn't lying when I told you that I need to leave." Obviously he did not care as he completely ignored what I said. I tried to smile, but his actions worried me. Of course they were expected, I did lose control in the living room. It seemed odd that he would try to keep me here though, particularly as he avoided eye contact. The stone was nesting deeper in my chest, causing me to assume that a purple mass of a bruise would form from the pressure. "Really. I'm sorry. I have to go home."

Again, he ignored me. I was going to stay and have dinner with him, no matter what I said. Once his mind was set on an idea, it was complicated to change his mind.

Sighing, I left him to his work. From the small Plexiglas table, I watched him diligently plan his next motion. I observed his actions carefully, keeping an open eye on his shift of personality. After awhile, he reversed back into his statue self, regaining his superior status and completely losing his dynamic motions. I noticed that even as he panicked, his posture remained the same. Perfect. Utterly flawless. I felt jealous of his haughtiness but somehow grateful to stand in his presence. It was a wonder how he could even bare to put up with my recklessness.

Apparently I had drifted into sleep at some point as a ghostly, frozen hand grasped my shoulder suddenly, waking me with a start. Blinking my eyes, I quickly noticed the mouthwatering smell that reached my senses. There was food directly in front of me, already set neatly on the table. Napkins and silverware accented the plates in a desirable way, and fumes smoked out from the finished repast.

Before making a motion towards the food I checked my watch. It was about forty minutes past eight and he hoped that Rikku was busy studying to notice him gone. There was only a few times where I was declared missing by his family and most of the time it included Rikku spazing out and overreacting. Usually she would backlash whenever I reappeared, mentioning how she thought that I was kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed location, never to be heard from again.

"Bon appetite." He made a small presentation gesture to the meal in a lazy attempt to show of his grand accomplishment. It was then that I realized exactly what he created. A dish of spaghetti and meatballs. I shared with him once that it was one of my preferred simple meals, especially since I loved Italian foods.

He sat across the table from me. Formally, he placed the napkin on his lap before setting his silverware in a specific manner. I watched him carefully adjust himself where both elbows were off the table. Completely the opposite from my posture.

It seemed almost hopeless. Months had passed and I still was unable to make any progress. Well, that was what I thought.

As April raged on, green moss and greenery practically took over the cities. Puddles flooded the streets and flood drains were the only savior business people knew, being able to travel to and from the drowning city. _Pitter Patter Pit Pat _echoed off the surface of building, a constant thundering rumble keeping the city alive.

Zexion lolled over the cooking book as if it were a vulture circling his pray. Small curses escaped his lips as he contemplated whether he missed a step or just confused himself.

Sighing, I pushed myself from the doorframe, making my way to the stove, carefully checking the temperature and setting the left burner on a higher setting. Zexion stopped attempting to decode the textbook and watched, slightly frustrated that I stepped in his way. Cooking was a passed down trait that was inherited from my mother. Uncle Cid barely cooked while Rikku was always on the go. That left me in an empty kitchen with a lot of time to pass.

"Why does it seem so easy when you do it?" He asked huffing slightly as I began to see bubbles boiling from the heated water.

"Because it isn't rocket science to boil water." I poured the noodles in next, watching steam erupt as the noodles made contact with the water. "How could a man of many talents not succeed in the culinary arts? Especially with living on your own for so long."

"As I said before, most of my meals were instant packets and TV-dinners. While I'm working I barely have time to sit down and cook a decent meal…" Annoyed, he swatted at some strands of hair that had flopped in front of his face, "Ramen was always on the menu. Plus there was never the hassle of washing dishes when I can just recycle the aftermath, so it was easier on my life." Upon his explanation, he did not remark on my attempt to stroke his ego but only glowed in a sense where he knew his greatness was acknowledged.

"Sounds easy enough."

It was when we were sitting down at the table eating when he asked the question. I tried to avoid his curious gaze, but found I could not materialize into thin air to escape. "For the past few weeks you've been out of sync." I made a hum when food was already in my mouth- thank goodness for human nature. The noise did not spark any sort of suspicions with the other, but he continued on with his careful observations nevertheless. "Very distracted. I asked awhile back ago but I digress."

"It's personal problems and drama." I replied as soon as I could speak, wiping my mouth with a napkin. However he soon retorted back about how I was hiding something from him since I would not meet eye-contact with him. A smile soon broke out across my lips as I finally looked up from my meal. "Relax, I do not want to ruin this evening because of some lovers spat."

He frowned. "You may assume that the comment will silence my remark but I still want to know what is wrong."

What was I supposed to tell him? What did he expect to hear from me? I have no clue what is wrong with me but I have this undeniable urge to stay by your side forever? Was that much enough for him? Or maybe I should tell him… There was no use of keeping it inside for this long…

"Well… Axel has been harassing me to buy a tux for the past few weeks. Among other things- mind you."

So much for telling him…

There was a sharp _clank_ from across the table, his silverware hitting against plate none-too-gently. Slowly I lifted my eyes again at catch his inquiring expression. "Why would that be?"

"It's not that big of a deal." I shrugged, already dismissing the information he wanted as old news. Well, it was old news, about half the school already knew of the red head's plans after leaving the academy. However Zexion, he was hardly one for schoolyard gossip. "He popped the question a few weeks back…"

"Oh." He paused, taking a small nibble off of his plate. We sat in silence again, slowly taking miniature bites from our dinner. After a while, he placed his fork down again and brought my attention back to his face. "Is he the red haired one that you sit with on the catwalk?" I nodded, knowing he knew who Axel was but only asked the question to settle the awkwardness. "So that means his… Husband-to-be is the blond?" I nodded again. "Tell them congratulations for me."

"I'll be sure to pass on your message."

Again there was silence.

"No… There's still something wrong with you."

"Well, aren't you cheery?" I playfully jeered, separating the leftover food on my dish idly. We let the silence dominate the conversation again, not even the sound of silverware hitting against plates filling the empty void. Finally, I lifted my gaze to meet the strange but somewhat worrisome expression on his face. I sighed, "Why are you so curious?"

First he had to comment on my joking attitude with a short, "Again, sarcasm is not your strongest point, you have too much of a happy face for such things." Even though he sneered as he spoke, it registered as a compliment more than an insult, making me smile a bit. Then he retorted sharply to the latter question of mine. "Is it wrong of me to be curious?"

"No. I'm just wondering why you are turning into a prying minx."

"There's no real reason. I'm just…" Worried? Anxious? Concerned? Bothered? Apprehensive? He never completed his thought, only shaking it off to continue, "It's not as if I'm trying to become your mother."

I knew he did not mean anything by it. I knew that much. However I could not stop my heart from dropping to the pit of my stomach. It hurt… Burned even. I found myself standing from the table, a frown planted over the usual smile. A gasp escaped my counterpart as I tossed the napkin lazily over the unfinished meal and stormed out of the kitchen and then out of his apartment, leaving him alone in the hushed- almost suffocating- ambiance.

That's when I found myself in the rain once again. My hood was down as the _Pitter Patter _of rain droplets hit against the material of my jacket. I felt alone on the top of the fire escape, watching over the dying energy of a drowning city.

I never told him about my personal life.

So much for telling him…

It was a strange feeling as I thought about what he meant to me.

Maybe I liked him. Maybe I liked him more that I should. Should I like him this way? Was it healthy for me? If I liked him… Why did I deny myself the experience? Was I afraid of the denial? Was I thinking that this… Friendship… Was too good to be true? Was I afraid that if I took a bold approach the feelings that harbored in every one of my actions towards him would simply disappear?

I muffled out a cry, my mouth covered by the soaked sleeve of my jacket.

Just thinking of him… Think… _Think_…

My legs gave out, causing me to collapse to my knees in a weeping mess. Hot tears poured down my face freely, my hands shaking too badly to wipe them away. I had to keep thinking about him… Not to her. Please…

Uncle Cid promised to make a trip across town with me, but he was still at the office. At this hour as it was turning night, he certainly must have forgotten. Surely he would not make it home before the sun was completely set, even if he did remember. Rikku was working as well and her shift would not be done until late at night. It would be too late by then. It left me alone to think over my options.

A few minutes passed as I managed to somehow calm myself down, the tears ceasing to roll down my cheek and my heart rate decreasing from its speedy tempo. Breathing slowly, I began to formulate a plan… Or began to realize that I had no such thing. Axel was with Roxas, helping each other plan for their future. He was so excited, I did not want to be a bother and ruin his mood. I certainly did not want to bring Zexion into this. So that left me, utterly alone.

As I left, I put a note on the door, stating that I would be back soon and I was paying my respects. Mainly it was left for Rikku since she would be the first back and the only one who would form a search party. The note sounded so professional. Too professional. I would not be surprised if she suspected the note to be from a kidnapper… I managed to chuckle a little when I imagined the look on her face, the suspicion eating her up inside. Simple, simple Rikku. I was lucky I had someone who cared for me in that way.

The ride there was very long and uneventful, as I suspected. I was impressed that I did not have another episode in the back of the taxi as it took me from the apartments towards the outskirts of the city. Usually Rikku would be here to make conversation with me, either trying to cheer me up or hold my hand in some sort of way to comfort me. I appreciated everything she has done for me, I really did. I guess I should be used to doing these things by myself now that I am maturing.

A graveyard was seen in the distance, the location was not too far off from the familiar bay. Stone graves were overtaken with greenery, most of the decorative flowers were pelted by rainfall, and some were even washed away. The taxi slowed to a stop and I graciously thanked the driver and paid him his earnings before stepping out into the light, cold rain.

It took a long while after the taxi has disappeared from view for my legs to start moving. The lines of graves were intimidating and I could not help but jump when the wind began to pick up, sending an unnerving chill through my body. It was in my sight. The dark gray slab of stone, decorated my nature's moss. Step by step, I approached the grave.

_A loving wife and mother_

_Catherine Melodious _

I stood in silence, the _Pitter Patter Pit Pat _mixed in with the squishing of soggy grass underneath my boots. My hands clamped and unclamped at my sides, my nerves being set on edge as the words I wanted to speak trembled from my lips with a light sniffle.

"Happy birthday, Mum."

The rain was beating harder but I kept my hood off as I stood, hovering over her grave in mourning. My eyes were closed as all the memories came flooding back at once. The morning. The funeral. The pain. The tears. The downfall…

I did not even hear the other's approach.

"_Demyx_."

My heart stopped. From recognizing the voice, I jumped out of my skin, my neck snapping to source in shock. He was behind me, blocking my other exit. Panic filled my senses and my brain screamed for me to run upon seeing his figure but I knew I couldn't. I choked on another cry, this time from fear and I quickly regretted my lack of control. I did not want him to see me weak. Never again.

I tugged on my hood, shielding my eyes. It was the only protection I could find at the moment, knowing my legs could not hold me enough to past him towards the exit. Surely he would try to stop me… The pain from long ago burning at the back of my head as the other stood only a few feet away. It was evident that my presence surprised him as well.

My teeth clenched and a low hiss escaped as he came closer.

A step.

Then two.

"Hello, my son."

End of Chapter Six

* * *

I finished this chapter during one of my classes this year, a week after my fiancé told me the deadline to complete my stories. Ah, progression feels so sweet. Anyhoo, we have only three more chapters left before this story is completed. Yes, I will count the chapters with such enthusiasm. I feel so frustrated that it has taken so long to accomplish. I will complete this story, first and foremost! I am dedicated- right now- to complete my stories by the deadline! I will prevail!

I hope you enjoyed chapter six!

Review if you wish, tell me what you think, suggestions, comments, come on people! Even if you want to say something totally random, say it. I don't really mind… If you've read some of my other reviews, you'll notice that I don't care about random.

YourConscience813


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